Discovering how far we can reach is an unknown until we actually get out there with the opportunity of finding ourselves.
For me, it was a zigzag trip; I moved from Ohio to the California desert, then to San Francisco to study Zen. After 19 months at Zen Center I moved to Berkeley to finish college. Originally, the plans were for me to study technical writing, but by a serendipitous turn I discovered computers. I was years older than my classmates, most of whom were into programming at some level; many were at the wizard level by their freshman year. Being so far behind my classmates meant having to work doubly hard, yet it wasn't as much burden as a challenge.
Of course college was only the starting gate. After graduation came many more chances for self-determination: competing for jobs, and the rest of the journey--marriage, family, learning ways of turning toward the sun whenever possible.
Every stage revealed a deeper, fuller appreciation of challenge.
The fullness of life's summer
holds myriad joys, myriad challenges.
As the scrub oak often stands alone,
when we rely on innate strengths
we discover the beginnings of character.
Learning to trust
unearths passions of self-reliance.
It founds responsibilities
squarely upon our own shoulders.
Independence and self-reliance
set life's granite cornerstones.
With the challenge of responsibility
they offer a sure footed trek across
towering dunes of undulating sands.
