When Opportunity Arises

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

It’s been a year since the official launch of The Human Experience Podcast. It’s difficult to put into words how I feel (which is saying something because words are usually the thing I’m best at).

I am, first and foremost, proud. I’m proud that after years of planning and being unsure, I took the plunge and sent my heart and soul out into the world. Because as any person embarking on a creative endeavor will tell you, there is no possible way to create without leaving pieces of your soul intertwined within the very fabric of your creation.

I believe that stories are the most powerful tool we have at our disposal. Like most powerful things, they have the ability to both create and destroy. And we therefore have a responsibility to wield them with care.

I have been enamored with stories since I was in the 8th grade; possibly longer, but I vividly remember reading To Kill A Mockingbird in English. Now, I know it’s not groundbreaking in the least to claim this beloved classic as the book that made you fall in love with reading. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day indeed. 

There’s a paradoxical feeling I get when I walk into a bookstore or library - sheer elation mixed with utter despondency. Being in these spaces fills me with the wonder of possibility, each book a world of its own, fiction or not. Tales of the unbelievable sitting alongside the stories that make up our history and our very being. It is in the same breath of this wonder that a panic begins to set in - one that only comes with the realization that time is fleeting. 

It is in these spaces, when I am aware of the magnitude of human expression, that I also realize that there aren’t enough lifetimes to know them all. It is a gloomy, but recurring, thought that I’ve had often - there isn’t enough time to read all of the books, to hear all of the stories, to travel all of the places, to experience all of the things that creation and humanity have to offer.

Have you ever felt that? That rush of knowing that you belong in this space, that you were created for these moments, but also feeling a little bit sad in the realization that there is so much to this beautiful, and sometimes terrible, world? If we’re paying attention at all, I’d say that every one of us has felt some variation. 

But, I think, with these feelings there is also a profound sense of purpose. Because it is that very sense of urgency that drives us forward. There is no time to waste.

Opportunities come in many forms, and they look different for all of us. But that’s the beauty of life, no two have to look the same; it is yours to live, and pursue, relentlessly.