Living the QuestionAugust 21 2008

I lived my life as a statement, until I met someone whose life asked a question.

Back when my life was a statement, I appeared to “have it made.” I had a successful career, family, financial security… all that I had been told would bring true happiness. So why wasn’t I truly happy? ...

I had learned that we possessed the ability to feed everyone in the world, but simply lacked the willpower to make it happen. A popular song that year tugged
at my heart:

We are the world,
We are the children,
We are the ones who make a brighter day…

This song touched me very deeply…so deeply that my question changed from “What would I do?” to “What can I do?”

It was that year that I met a friend of a friend named Balbir Mathur, who spoke about something called “Trees for Life.” A few days after our meeting I received a call from Balbir, asking if I knew someone who could stitch together some green aprons for a St. Patrick’s Day parade. That “someone” turned out to be me, and thus began my enduring relationship with Trees for Life. Over time, I saw that Balbir lived his life as a question. My life as a statement ended, and I began to ask the same question: “How may I serve?”

This just dang makes me smile and cry at the same time.

My favorite line…
There’s a choice we’re makin’
We’re saving our own lives...