I find it difficult to write an article without any prior inspiration and while attempting to do so at my local coffee shop, I was thrust into a conversation with a 73 year old man named Jim. Jim was Caucasian, had a receding white hairline and was dressed in an odd combination of light stained old jeans, a bright red running jacket that swished with every movement, a gray shirt and worn-in black shoes. He was a character to say in the least. The oddity was not how he dressed or how he carried himself but how he was able to instantly strike a random conversation with a random stranger without holding anything back. He was quite inquisitive; his first question 10 seconds after sitting right next to me was asking where I was from. The first question catalyzed a conversation that ranged from my thoughts on religion, the need for genetic research to better understand Native American lineage and history, the further urbanization progression of Albuquerque in just the last 25 years and even the impact of the loss of his wife and how it affected his sense of tradition, habits and the change it brought on to no longer being afraid of the social hindrances he used to always be cognizant of.
Jim had a lot of knowledge and cold hard experiences that, in his opinion, needed to be shared. His life story, unshareable since the death of his wife and the absence of additional family members beyond her. We discussed his need for a lasting impact post mortality and that he was achieving it by striking up conversations with strangers whether or not we were willing to listen.
The thought scared me.
Imagining my 21 year-old self in the future at 73 years-old with a deceased partner wanting to make an impact on the world that I was going to leave. Knowing that the most important things on my mind at this moment are not focused on living life to the best that it can be but instead how I needed to go to work later today or that I needed to pay rent by the end of the month. The fact that I live semester to semester, paycheck to paycheck and friendship to friendship. It is so easy to lose yourself in the perceived amount of success you need to have in life that you do not do anything to change the world around you for the better. This need that does not necessarily need to be altruistic but that can also just improve the fitness of your own family lineage or your most sacred of friendships. Live life always improving the world around you for the long term as opposed to the short term.
Thank you to Jim. Not just for the existential crisis, but letting me indirectly know the struggle that individuals face at the end of their lives when they realize it is too late to do what it is that they truly want. You have made an impact on this world, kind sir, and by extension on everyone reading this article.
Only the best,
Shawn Spencer
Authors note: The goal that I am trying to accomplish with sharing these small pieces of my experiences is to show that there is always knowledge or life changing realizations that can be found in your own experiences whether they are mostly positive, mostly negative or somewhere in the middle.
The Motivation Report as told by me is going to be a series of short stories updated now and again that goes behind how I have found or will find the motivation to overcoming my own obstacles in education, career path, or just life in general. I expect that the idea is going to change over time so we all have that to look forward to. Thank you for taking a peek into my life.
I also want to thank Will Sterling, the producer/writer of the online podcast The Motivation Report: one, for letting me use your clever podcast title and graphic and two, for inspiring me to not only share my story but also showing me the importance of sharing your truth. You can follow his Motivation Report Podcast at this link: https://soundcloud.com/themotivationreport and you can follow Will on Twitter and Instagram @WillSterling_
Whether it is through music, stories, film, dance, etc. you are immersing yourself into a sense of vulnerability when you express your perspective that can effect change, galvanize and/or contribute to the ideas of others.
