State your mission

Hey Ya'll. Just got back from a great weekend of camping with Ms. Tracey Abner. Covered some of the same ground along the Willamette river that I biked on my x-country trip in '05. It was much easier to climb Santiam Pass (4,817ft) in a '91 Camry than it was on my touring bike. It was also less rewarding though, and the descent was not nearly as thrilling. So it goes.

We ran into a couple of x-country cyclists in Sisters, OR. There names are Josh and Teel, and it just so happens that they stopped at Tommy's bike shop last week. When they came by the shop I gave there bikes a little tune up and shared some words of wisdom from the road. Here's their website!

We stayed the weekend at camp Sherman along the Metolius River. The Metolius river is a natural spring that bubbles up from the beautiful green earth.

So, a few months ago Tracey and I decided to write personal mission statements. I wrote my first mission statement in high school as an assignment for health class (thanks Ms. Gai). I really loved the idea, so I decided to update mine.

Tracey and I each wrote a draft of our personal mission statements. We then shared them, gave feedback, and went back to the workshop. After some editing, we exchanged final drafts and tasked each other with making a beautiful presentation of our words. Here's a picture of me with my new mission statement (Thanks Tracey!).

And here's what it says:

To live simply - mend instead of replace, consume less, travel light

Enjoy the gifts that the present moment has to offer

Appreciate the importance of treating oneself with kindness - eat well, sleep well, and take your time

Revel often in the beauty and wonder of the natural world, of which you are a small part

Give the gift of presence by listening deeply and practicing empathy

Attend to and support my friends and family in living well and full

Embrace and participate in my community with my soul, my energy, my ideas and my critical mind, and my own two hands

Question social conventions and live life as just the wonderful experiment that it should be

Play like a child, laugh heartily, and remember that most times, it's not that deep

Remember taht all these things are interconnected

Read and revise this mission regularly

What's your mission?