Day 20: Fulfillment & Hospitality

Last night, my kid coughed every minute on the minute for the last eight hours, then woke up fresh as a flower.

Here's our conversation..

"Hi Dad, it's wake up time".

"Go back to bed kid, you were up all night, and you're sick today."

"Time is relative -- the rate at which time passes depends on your frame of reference."

"Back to bed smartass."

Anyway,

My kid and I went to an Indigenous Peoples' Day Event this weekend and camped out. It was embarrassingly the first time I had ever been to an event like this, and I learned a lot.

The whole thing blew his mind. The sage smoke, the men and women dancing in feathered and beaded traditional dress, and most of all the music.

He LOVED the music. I got him a toy flute, and he still can't take it out of his mouth. Meal time is awkward.

I was jotting down some of the things I valued about the event, and my life, and I'll share them with you over the next several days if that's cool.

Thing #1 (on fulfillment and hospitality)

Life has meaning when you are in service to others. That doesn’t mean that you need to be a doormat. It means that your work is most fulfilling when it helps other people in some way.

I'm in no way some deep philosopher, but I remember thinking of this receiving some hospitality from a group of people who just wanted to share their culture without pretense, agenda, or fear.