Melting Pot Culturalism

(image by: Marianne Von Fange)

I am a country girl. I listen to country music and like the wilderness. I camp. I can make a great fire. Campfire is actually my favorite scent, but I often opt for pine. Hiking may be my all time favorite activity. I can grill a mean steak.

I also love things like traveling, plays, underground music, string instruments, painting, reading classics, talking politics, coffee shops, hammocks, oceans, curry, heels, pubs, and pedicures. I have a rather low patriotism, not because I don't think this country is great, but because I have seen too much to actively pedestal our ideas.

I am a product of melting pot culture. A conglomeration of traditions, histories, and dreams from all over the world. Resilience is inherent because of my ancestors fight. Ambition is highly valued as we grab another rung. Independence is vital as dependence has meant pain and destruction for the group.

One of the great things about melting pot culture is the opportunity to understand others. One of the downfalls: Options.

We are a great number of individuals, from 20 to 50, that don't know what to focus our lives on. We have so many options and the inability to narrow our scope has made a group of un-specialized, ineffective, inch-deep world changers. No wonder we are frustrated with the lack of result. We have tried everything under the sun for a few months and then moved on. We left our shovels and bull-dozers to rust while we pulled out a spoon to dig.

Some of the best advice I was ever given was to ask myself the following question: What could you do for hours on end, without getting paid, and be energized by it? If list is long or disjointed, prioritize and begin to specialize. (Credit for good advice goes to Aaron Stern)

At the time I didn't even know how to answer the first question, let alone choose a direction. I was interested in everything, wanted to go everywhere and see it all. As the following year passed I realized what my answer was and can now be found for hours on end, in a coffee shop of my daily choosing, working for no pay and loving every minute of it - and for the first time I can see real change happening. I am not doubting my effectiveness or position in life. There is possibility at my fingertips and I will dig for this non-material motherload. It is worth too much to leave behind.

I hope you dig deep. Plant deep. See change happen deep. There is no other way to reach our goals then to actively pursue them through the storm, to take the time to understand and answer with a new strategy.