I have to remind myself that harmony (or disharmony) happens one moment at a time, otherwise its impossible to explain or embrace.
The last couple of months have been amazing. I feel like there has been an acceleration in my life. The voices in my head seem to be in harmony with the voices in my heart.
I want to convey what I am feeling, and I am struggling to figure out how.
There are many moments of disharmony that still fill my days. Life is not perfect.
It is not that life is perfect, but rather that I am seeing the cumulative results of a dedication to harmony.
I am more grateful than ever for every day and every moment.
This morning, I was sitting in the garage looking at our new basketball hoop on our newly expanded driveway. Grateful! As a boy, I dreamt of living in a house, not an apartment. I dreamt of having a basketball hoop on my driveway. I dreamt of playing with my father.
Years ago, I spent a fair amount of time wishing I had a bigger home, wishing this and wishing for that…
Today, I am grateful for my home, for my boys, for my wife, for our driveway and our basketball hoops… and for the fact that we are healthy and able to play together.
I want to keep growing – and I want to continue to provide a high quality of life for my family… but there is little to no wishing going on… and, I can feel the difference. The difference is massive.
It was my middle son’s birthday on Wednesday. Most of my life, I would have been wishing I was more prepared for it (there was a little of that). I would have been wishing we lived in Peru as well as the US so that more of the people we loved could celebrate with him. I would have been wishing he was happier. I would have been lost wishing.
This year, I was happy. I was just happy. I was happy to be together. I was happy to have dinner with my family and include our very special uncle who lives nearby. It was a beautiful night. We sat outside. Dinner was delicious. The family seemed happy. I love that we enjoy being together. I am grateful that we have the means to try new and fun places. It was a beautiful night.
It was his birthday... and each one of us got to take our own moment away from it. And, for me, it was a slice of heaven.
The older I get, the more I find myself in the moment. The less I find myself wishing that moments were different.
We had a group of new employees this week start working for our company. I do a talk with new employees, and I ask them “Why they are here?”. I talk about the importance of asking yourself the question “why am I here?” everyday.
Several of our new hires said the reason they were with us was because of me. They trusted me. They wanted to be part of the journey we were on. They believed the opportunity that we are pursuing.
There is nothing that means more to me than earning people’s trust.
So many things didn’t go right this week, but so many did.
The irony is the WHY I am here, or at least at my company, is truly because of them. I am here to create a company, and environment that people can be engaged in, can enjoy, can benefit from… It is my ultimate goal to create a company that endures time, and that has at its core a respect for people – and as its mission the commitment to improve the lives of those who are engaged with it.
Harmony begets harmony… and I am seeing it come to life in so many ways…
I realize that I need to re-earn people’s trust in every moment. I need to show up in every moment and work to continue the momentum. I know that not all moments will be successful, but the more deliberate and focused that I am, the more moments I will succeed.
And, the acceleration and “groove” that I am feeling, is that I am seeing is that harmony begetting harmony is expanding. The wins are getting bigger. The level of trust from people is getting deeper. Our strategy is getting richer. And, our path is getting clearer.
There is no destination in life. No goal is an endpoint. I have finally after 47 years come to finally understand that the moment is everything, that success is the journey. Life is the journey and the only place that we experience it is right here… right in this and every moment…
That is where we build trust, execute strategy, construct, destruct, achieve, experience, laugh, feel, love…
I still dream... I dream often...
And, it's in the moment where I work to make my dreams come true....
I so get it now…
47 years later...
And, I want to help others get it too…
And, I want to live every possible moment… deliberately… consciously… and
In harmony,
Nestor Benavides