The Tippyng Point

Have you ever had that feeling...the feeling that you are one with the Universe, that you are exactly where you were created to be, that you don't have a care in the world,or that without the sun and moon, time wouldn't exist?

I had this rare feeling last weekend while in Warsaw, IN at Lake Tippecanoe. It was, indeed, a Tippyng Point (for all of you who've read Malcom Gladwell's notable book) for me. Gladwell describes "TheTipping Point is a way of making sense of the world, because I'm not sure that the world always makes as much sense to us as we would hope. I spent a great deal of time in the book talking about the way our minds work--and the peculiar and sometimes problematic ways in which our brains process information. Our intuitions, as humans, aren't always very good. Changes that happen really suddenly, on the strength of the most minor of input, can be deeply confusing. People who understand The Tipping Point, I think, have a way of decoding the world around them."


I'm not really sure that it was the specific lake, activities or people I was with that culminated in my Aha moment this weekend, but I'm sure all played a part. I think for me, just being in nature, breathing in the freshness, feeling the chill of emerald green waters, seeing the diamond-filled skies, soaking up all the vitamin D the sun has to share, and feeling the warm soothing Summer breeze on my skin just takes me outside of my head. And this my friends is a luxury money can't buy. Being removed from myself (in a sense) enables me to connect with God as a part of His glorious creation. I am able to focus on the Creator and not the creation - to be wooed by my first love. Magical.


This experience has served as a filter for seeing my current struggles, challenges, hope, ideas, creativity and opportunities in light of a bigger picture. I have wrestled the past 6 mos or so with trying to figure out my life, no small feat right?!? It sounds plain silly as I write it here. I have thought through countless plans and options. Thought long and hard about my passions and how to leverage them - often stumbling upon exciting possibilities. Yet, I have been gun shy. I get caught up in the muck and mire of details, planning and perfection. "What if I fail?" "What if things work out?" Neither being fruitful questions for me.

I think Gladwell offers some hope for this struggle of mine and many of yours....
Just like epidemics, "Things can happen all at once, and little changes can make a huge difference. That's a little bit counter intuitive. As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect. And when there isn't -- when crime drops dramatically in New York for no apparent reason, or when a movie made on a shoestring budget ends up making hundreds of millions of dollars -- we're surprised. I'm saying, don't be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work."



The bigger picture isn't worried about the details. It isn't concerned with the HOW, but the WHAT. I didn't spent my weekend at the lake thinking, "Wow, God, I wonder HOW you did all this...I mean, it's just mind boggling." But I did think, "Wow, God, you are amazing. Thank you for your creation. It truly is good and wonderful." I was able to appreciate it for what it is and enjoy it. This is what I hope to carry forward in my head and heart. I want to take the ideas, opportunities, setbacks and disappointments and glean what I can from them and keep pushing the ball forward. I don't want to stall in indecisiveness or fumble in complacency. Because all things take their own course, even when they're counter intuitive or hard to fathom.

So here's to focusing on the WHAT, embracing a Tippyng Point, and forward motion. Don't be left in the dust!!!

Back Where I Come From

Oklahoma - Kenny Chesney says it best in his song Back Where I Come From..."In the town where I was raised, The clock ticks and the cattle graze. Time passed with Amazing Grace, Back where I come from." And although he's talkin' bout Tennessee, these words still get to me.

Returning home to Tahlequah, Oklahoma from my busy urban perch was a much needed respite for my weary soul. There's nothing that grounds me more than the smell of freshly bailed hay blowing in the wind and watching the town I know and love tinker on the verge of progress and regress.

The purpose of this Oklahoma pit stop was to attend my sisters' HS graduation. Watching them graduate from my high school was a bit emotional. Not only did it seem just like yesterday that it was me walking across that stage, but also I was hit with the reality that it's actually been 6 years! "How could so much time pass? I'm glad I'm past this. But these days were so great! Ya, but I love my life now." I thought to myself...pretty much a mixed bag.

It's funny how the relatively simple things can have such an effect on me...like the freedom to cruise down the highway at 80mph (speed limit is 75), or holding my new baby niece and breathing in her sweet smell, or gorging myself on my fave "white dip" at El Chico(s) - i say it with an "s" - the Mexican restaurant in Muskogee to which I happily drive 30 min to get my fix.

"Now you can lie on a riverbank
Paint your name on a water tank
Or miscount all the beers you drank
Back where I come from"

Throughout the duration of this long weekend, the great outdoors lured me back places o so familiar to me. I joined friends for a day out on Lake Tenkiller, braving the sun-worshipping crowds gathered for the holiday weekend. There I was in awe of the beauty that beheld me in this often-overlooked gem of a destination. The emerald rolling hills submerging themselves in the almost equally green waters contrasted with the bright blue sky painted with cumulus nimbus puffs - an idyllic day for boating and swimming.

In an effort to reclaim some of my most fond childhood memories, I joined my younger sister on a 4-wheeler excursion (in my sundress). The familiar vrooom of the engine sent sparks through my chest as the exhilarating ride began. It had been a few years since my last ride and I was feeling a bit anxious and rusty, but as is true with riding a bike, it came back in no time. Following her through trails, around ponds, and (unwisely) into a muddy field - i got stuck and mud was flying up all around me...i was at a crossroads btwn saving my fave yellow and white dress or getting the 4-wheeler out of the mud - amazingly making it back safe with only a drop of mud on my dress!

The past four days taught me a lot about little. It truly is the "little" things in life that make a life great. Family to love, good friends to laugh with, new life, the great outdoors, favorite foods, small towns, absence of time, and all that is home.

"Back where I come from
Where I'll be when it's said and done
I'm proud as anyone
Back where I come from"