We Are Where We Are

“We are where we are.” ~ Michael J. Fox, from his book “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist”

I am an avid reader. Always have been. Probably always will be. I inherited my love of reading from my mother. She was a voracious reader. She seemingly always had a book in her hands and stacks of books on the nightstand next to her bed. In fact, my earliest memories involve her reading books to me late at night as part of the normal bedtime ritual in our family. Growing up as a child, our home was filled with books, both purchased and borrowed from the library. So, needless to say, I have fully embraced and mimicked that behavior in my own adult years. I love books and am surrounded by them. Literally.

To that end, I was finishing up a book by Michael J. Fox this morning when I came across the above quote (it was actually part of the closing paragraph to an absolutely amazing book that I highly recommend). Now, one way in which I really depart from my mother’s behavior involves “how” I read a book. To this day, I do all of the following for every book I read: I underline, I highlight, I draw arrows for emphasis, I scribble notes in the margins, and I actually record particularly impressive and pertinent quotes on the back and front covers (see image below). So, accordingly, as I came across this quote today I quickly scribbled the following notes at the bottom of page 262:

• Bloom where you have been planted.
• Thrive in your present surroundings.
• Embrace the here and now.
• Find contentment and peace in the moment.
• Make the most of every opportunity, including this one.
• Savor this present season of life.
• Today is all I really have… use it wisely.

Yeah, I get it. There are certainly no novel thoughts in that list. And to be honest, yes, it can read a little, or even a lot, like “fortune cookie” wisdom. But for me, the story at the close of his book, and that one phrase in particular, were especially pertinent and equally timely. For most of the past decade+, I have been that young child in the back seat, constantly asking their father, “Are we there yet?” Such has been my current journey of faith. Without going into all the details, the past 10-12 years have demanded a lot of patience and perseverance from me (more than I thought I ever had). So often, my energy becomes a form of worry as I find my expectation always focused on the horizon, at some distant point in time that remains yet unrealized in the present. Today, as I finished reading Fox’s book, that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit echoed his words to me: “You are where you are.” And in that moment, my mind and heart were flooded with almost 6 decades of the various clichés I recorded in the book.

So, for my part, that is what I am trying to do. Yet once again. Within that context, I have very recently been given the opportunity of a lifetime (for me) in the form of this current UN Volunteer appointment. I am presently part of a small remote team that is working with GLOWA (a localized NGO in Cameroon) to assist them in their mission to eradicate child sexual exploitation in that war-torn country. As I said, for me, it is the opportunity of a lifetime, an assignment that I have been pursuing for quite some time now. So, while the reminder that “we are where we are” would come now does indeed seem strange, I also find it especially applicable. Maybe I am “there” finally. But maybe I’m not. Maybe this current “here” is just a brief stop on the ongoing journey to “there.” (Confusing? Don’t worry. I have a talent for confusing both myself and others 🙂 ) Regardless, now is the time to slow down, stop worrying about tomorrow, and take my list of clichés to heart. I am where I am… Relax. Embrace. And enjoy.

To learn more about GLOWA and the amazing work they are doing in Cameroon, click the following link: https://www.glowacmr.org/