What's with the title?

In April of 2011, I read an blog post by Peter Wood in The Chronicle of Higher Education Innovations blog in which he drew some parallels between a current independent movie and a leadership style seemingly prevalent in Higher Education. I saved a copy of the post since it struck a chord with me, and still occasionally reconsider it to see if it still resonates with me.

The movie he referenced was Meek’s Cutoff which tells the story of families in 1845 trying to reach the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They hire Steven Meek as their guide based on his assurances, yet he manages to bungle the job with a considerable number dying along the way. The movie shows Steven stating, “We’re not lost.  We’re just finding our way.”  That statement has stuck with me!

As I have reached this point in my life where it’s time to move from what I know to whatever comes next, the statement rings true once again, but in a totally different way. I know that I’m not lost - as a Christian I’m confident in the future. It’s just not clear at this point what occupation or specialization will command a significant portion of my waking hours. For now, I’m comfortable that we’re just finding our way.

What’s next?

At this point, I’m anticipating an initial period of travel and time with family. That may be followed by meaningful volunteerism combined with travel, or it might mean a paying job, temporary, part-, or full-time. There may be some house selling & buying, before January or after, or not...  

You’ll note that there is an unusual amount of “I” in this post. BJ is nervous, but supportive. You’ll see a lot more “we” in future posts. Meanwhile, I look forward to every day being a meaningful day.