When I was young, people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
As an elder, I find myself asking a related question, “How will my life matter?” I suppose we’re all hopeful our impact somehow extends beyond our lifetime.
There’s an ancient Etruscan word for this, saeculum. Rebecca Solnit describes it as “the expanse of time during which something is in living memory.” A saeculum extends beyond the life we live to the lives of those we touch.
My friend, Aviv Shahar, explains this in another way. He says each person represents a “portal of possibility” and has an opportunity to “cultivate and sculpt the story of human development.”
Towards this end, he created “Portals of Perception,” a community of individuals seeking ways to make a wiser future.
Last summer, Aviv asked me if I would agree to engage in a video dialogue focused on the principles behind the creation of this blog. I was honored to be asked, and it sounded like fun, so I agreed.
Aviv recently published our conversation in four parts on the “Portals” website. Links to each discussion segment are listed below. I hope you get an opportunity to listen to them. (My personal favorite is Part 4).
This is a new direction for me. I hope you find value in it!
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Towards A Life Well-Lived
Part 1: The Mystery of Life. (13 minutes)
– The mystery of being alive.
– Connecting more deeply with life
– The meaning of “We.”
– Why I write the blog
Part 2: What Is A Life Well-Lived? (11 minutes)
-Enjoying a meaningful life
– Finding joy that transcends circumstance
– The portal of awareness
– Disciplines of “seeing”
Part 3: Balance, Awareness, Practice, & Wisdom. (18 minutes)
– Cultivating awareness
– The “in-betweeness” of presence
– The origin of wisdom
– Connections
– Meaning and belonging
– Balancing life energies
Part 4: Holding Hands Again. (29 minutes)
– 9 words.
– Finding peace in challenge
– Letting go
– The shared space of discovery
– Reconciling individualism and “We.”
– Grace
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Towards A Life Well-Lived 