What it means to be extraordinary.

Recently I have been thinking about what it means to be extraordinary. To be an extraordinary person or do extraordinary things or to feel with extraordinary measure.

Coincidentally, I have also been thinking about the situation in Afghanistan - or perhaps not so coincidentally since working there/living there was an extraordinary experience for me. Also perhaps not so coincidentally I have been considering what it would mean to contribute there in the wake of the recent unfortunate events, as the opportunity to assist again may be on the horizon.

Thinking about my son, and wanting him to experience a life that is nothing less extraordinary, I am reminded that I have to model what that means. Of course it follows that living balls to the wall is likely to bring you closer to the extraordinary. So how does one do extraordinary things - BE extraordinary - exactly?

It means not playing it safe, for one. Not letting fear stop you from trying to accomplish great things. Not letting embarrassment or concern for looking foolish stop you from loving completely. In fact, it may be that the answer is to have just the right amount of recklessness. Be reckless in love. Be reckless in your sense of adventure. Be reckless in who you want to be. Give so much of yourself that you never have to ask "what if." And absolutely do the very things that people tell you can not do. While I expect to eat my words as my son gets older, I know that it will make him a better person for it.

Some people are extraordinarily good at their jobs. Or good in bed. Or good people. But the challenge seems to rest in how to be simply extraordinary. In all that you do. An extraordinarily good person, good parent, good partner, good worker, good citizen of the world.

(As an aside, I read something a highly successful woman and mother wrote - which is that you can have it all, just not all at the same time. Hmmmm.....)

As I (rapidly) approach turning 40, and what very well might be a midlife existential meltdown, I am conscious of how each decision - each action or inaction - may be viewed by my older self when the time comes for mortal reflections. What will I regret not having done is the most decisive factor in assessing current conditions, and i think so far it has steered me well. I am pleased (if not yet fully satisfied, though i hope never to be) with the level of extraordinary I have experienced thus far.

Without being reckless I would not have met so many extraordinary people (you know who you are). I would not have been to extraordinary places (like Istanbul and Buenos Aires and Thailand and India, to name but a few). I would not have worked on unimaginably meaningful and rewarding projects (in places such as Afghanistan no less). I would not have had my son (an epic of its own). I would not have thousands of memories to choose from on days when I need to remind myself of who I am, what I have done, where I have been, and where I still can go. When the time is right.

So, my love of loves,

my heart of hearts,

my prince of men.

This means that when your mom does something, it is for a reason - even if it appears foolish, reckless, impossible - and that reason is to show you how to pour every ounce of yourself into life. And in doing so, I hope you will learn to live an extraordinary life that makes your heart full, your head happy and your soul satisfied with the trail you leave behind.