We need more positive reminders. We are wired to remember the negative. How many of you can recall, with vivid detail, not only the events of 9/11, but everything about the day? Where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, and a thousand more details. And, all this would be magnified if you were in NYC, Boston, or D.C. that day, or if you were connected to one that was lost on that awful day in American history. We are wired to remember the negative. It’s part of our primal, survivor hardwiring.
Here’s a reminder of something from this century that was mostly missed. In June of 2000 a group of scientists gathered in the East Room of the White House to celebrate an amazing discovery of the human genome. Our own instruction book had finally been assembled. Are you kidding me? Nope. We cracked the code. Talk about good news!
A bunch of crazy scientists had labored since 1988 to uncover all the DNA of our species, the hereditary code of life. The text was over 3.1 billion letters long and carried within it all the instructions for building a human being. This discovery had been thought to be out of reach. It. Was. Not.
President Clinton said a little something to mark the occasion. Check it out…
“Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind. Today, we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, and the wonder of God’s most divine and sacred gift.”
Slow down and remember three big questions life asks each of us:
1. What will people remember about you?
2. What role will love play in your life?
3. What about faith? What are your deepest held beliefs and how are you building them more consciously, cultivating them more deeply, and challenging them more regularly?
Remember, friend, tomorrow promises nothing but an opportunity to live it to the best of our ability. I’m not feeling my best, today, but I’m aiming to make it count. How ’bout you my hurting, divided, and somewhat discouraged, friend? Lets get our sorriness up and get after making 9.11.23 count. I mean, come on man, we’re still breathing so how bad can it be? She doesn’t get you? He’s got no clue? Nobody seems to notice your life’s work? You’re not sure you believe anything anymore? Welcome to the human condition. Nobody said it was gonna be easy.
Live hard. Love harder…
BUILT TO LEAD 