Monday, October 7, 2024
For years before I quit full time teaching, I felt a need to advance. I was a university professor for 25 years. At 48, with no plan for a future, and with hardly enough money for the long term, I “retired.” That was my answer to advancement – to quit.
In academics, typical advancement includes upper administration; scholastic writing and research; promotion, like full professorship; or graduate-level teaching. As I pondered academic advancement, it felt like a demotion. So, I cut the cord. Being brave, releasing, and letting go was the “advancement” that I needed.
When we think of love, we often say that one has fallen in love. When we think of good fortune, we often say one has “fallen into” or “stumbled into” it. That means they move into the darkness, confidently. They fall backwards as it were, like those old Nestea commercials when the person plunges backwards into the crystal clear water. It’s just like a child trustingly falling into autumn leaves.
One of the most sublime feelings is when a roller coaster drops from the summit. Sublime comes from the Latin sublimis which means ‘high up.’ But the root, ‘sub,’ means below. When you reach and strive, you’ll hit rock bottom. When you let go, you realize there is no bottom – it’s infinite.
Skydive into your soul. It will ask you to unhinge, disarm, release, and plunge. Fall in love with life, first. And then, you’ll be guided to your outward advancement. It won’t be typical. It’ll be playful, and there will be part of you that will feel mischievous and irresponsible. How could I just be playful, lighthearted, and childlike? Well, that’s all that you are. Focus on that, and you’ll advance to heights that would have been considered unscalable by your former self. Let go, fall in love, and life will raise you to the pinnacle of sublimity. Are you brave enough to take the plunge?