This I Believe
Posted by Elizabeth
In the 1950s, as the Cold War and Leave it to Beaver reared its ugly head, Edward R. Murrow hosted a radio program called This I Believe. Americans huddled around their radios to hear audio essays featuring the likes of New York cabbies and Helen Keller discussing their personal philosophies of life, the core values that they held closest to their hearts. What began as a simple radio program transformed itself into a cultural phenomenon. In 2004 National Public Radio resurrected the idea, and for the next four years modern Americans from all walks of life waxed poetically, once again, about their strongest beliefs (my friend, Nikki, submitted an essay on her decision to become a vegan).
Over the life of this blog, you will come to know what I believe. You will quickly understand that I believe deeply and equally in the process of change and the power of homemade pie. You will come to know that, as much as I get bored with routine, I will take a bath nearly every evening. And while I (secretly?) long for a gypsy-vagabond lifestyle, I crave clutching a list in my hand. These are the paradoxes that make life complex…and interesting. Our blog is about change; it’s also about what we cling fast to when our personal life-boats navigate the rocky seas of uncertainty. No matter how many times I’ve negotiated the process, no matter how different each iteration looks, there are certain truths I hold self-evident about change.
I believe the greatest gift we can give ourselves is to discover and create our personal path to happiness. We all possess the power to reinvent ourselves at any given moment. I believe the key to change is knowing when to sit still, go with the flow and listen to your intuition, and knowing when to be rational, take action, and grab hold of your destiny. If an intention is good and true, everything will work out. When I see a bluebird in nature, I know I’m on the right track. I believe that clarity, purpose, and growth sprout from chaos. I believe that things happen for a reason, even if that reason isn’t immediately clear. I believe in engaging in life in a way that makes us a little bit uncomfortable and pushes us out of our comfort zones. I believe in getting out of bad situations as quickly as possible. I believe deeply in the power of intuition and dreams to help guide us in the right direction. When in doubt about what direction to turn, start with what you know and follow your curiosities. I believe in creative human potential. I believe that we have to take big risks in order to have big payoffs. Nothing in life is certain. There is no such thing as a sure thing. Everything changes. I believe that sometimes everything must fall apart to be created again. Good books, writing letters, deep conversations, cooking and eating superb food, movies without happy endings, and a visit to a paper store are my balms during the change process. Change rarely happens as quickly as we want it to. No matter how hard we try to evade it, whatever needs changing pursues us until we can ignore it no longer. Oftentimes, the process of change requires less doing and more being. Change usually unfolds over a series of small steps, rather than a “burning bush” moment. When you feel energy for an idea, even if it seems irrational or crazy, you’re probably moving in the right direction. Change doesn’t always mean giving up on something; sometimes life is simply asking us to question or restructure. I believe we more often regret the things we didn’t do, rather than the thing we did do. Change often requires sacrifice, forcing us to grapple with what’s really important to us. I believe the Universe is speaking to us all the time, if we could just be quiet enough to hear what it’s saying.
Pardon our progress! We are still working with our graphic designer to have our custom logo added to the banner, so the front page looks a bit rough. Stay tuned for aesthetic improvements but, in the meanwhile, enjoy the content!
June 28th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Elizabeth and Anne -
Congratulations and welcome to the blogosphere!! I know this will be a wonderful landing page for me and many others. Terrific name and I think you will find you have a great deal to say.
I also believe in change — it keeps me going so I look forward reading about it and sharing experiences here.
On behalf of Mothers of Brothers — hooray for you both!
June 28th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
The other day I came to a realization; one I shared with Seb. “I am a Quitter.” (Spoken with insight and gusto.) Because I believe, like you, in getting out of bad situations as soon as possible. It’s interesting how people come out of the woodwork when you leave something behind and say they wished they had the courage to do the same. Maybe it takes practice, but once you get it down there’s a certain high that follows giving notice or getting out of something you never wanted to be in. Maybe I’m getting too good at this. I’ll never be part of any clubs or keep a job long enough to make a living. Any postings for professional quitters out there?
Thanks for thinking of my long lost essay. I’m honored.
Can’t wait to see those graphics!
June 28th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Good for you Elizabeth – it’s SO refreshing to hear someone admit that they actually LIKE change. At the moment it seems to be so fashionable to be one of the whiners and moaners to avoid standing out from the crowd.
Let’s face it, life would be really BORING without change – there’d be no new inventions, no new ways of doing things, no new relationships, nothing new at all. If people really thought about the fabulous part that change plays in our lives I think they would all agree it’s as necessary as breathing, although sometimes not quite so easy LOL!!
Great blog – will watch with interest to see how it unfolds. Love n Hugs, IshaRa
June 29th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I’m so glad you’re posting again! Looking forward to continued reading. And, thanks for reminding me of the uncertainty of change. It seems our plans change on a daily basis!
June 30th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
In the June 29th post, Anne had written “To finish a fantastic book is to feel both satisfaction and sorrow.” That was my feeling when you (Liz) had completed your round the world trip and inevitably ended the blogging of your adventures. I felt satisfaction and shared pride of your accomplishment as if I was there alongside you and Maikael the whole time. I then felt sorrow when realizing, then, that I had only witnessed your experiences and that after reading your final post it would be the last time I would read anything new and a picture of a pair of tired shoes would be the last picture I would see.
It made me think about the accomplishments I have made in my life and the challenges I have faced in my time and weather I should live vicariously through the words of others or weather I should take those words and make them mean something more. Make them motivate me to accomplish bigger dreams, to reach hire goals, to live more, to laugh more, to Love more.
This is what I plan on taking from your writings. Motivation!
I am looking forward to Anne’s posts even more. For I am a Change-phobic longing to be an adventurer and am anxious to seeing how she plans on dealing with change as I deal with my own.
Keep up the good writing!
Always,
A Big Fan
June 30th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Beautiful first post. It’s a pleasure to be reading it and looking forward to more.
xo