Buying the mission

Earlier today I was catching up with some fellow community members after a long summer break. We're in the middle of Summer in Aotearoa, the kids are still on holiday (since November), and there's real life to enjoy. So, it has been about 6 weeks and it felt good to be reconnecting. And indeed it was great to see those faces from around the world once more.

I came away from my first experience of this communal space with these questions.

Am I the product, or the customer of this community?

Or am I a member of it?

Or, or, am I something else?

Is this nomenclature and its meaning completely wrong?

And, whatever I am, why I am I happy to be here?

(For clarity, 'here' is currently, a 3mx5m room which is my office, at the back of the house, looking at people through a screen, when the sun is out outside. And yet, I am consciously choosing to spend my time this way).

Too many questions and just too much to ponder in a short space of time. I have plenty of things to think about and create, so I'm applying a heuristic here to come up with some semblance of an answer.

I only spend on things I care about.

Whether that is spending my time, energy, social capital, expertise or my monies. And, means not spending my time on something, anything, else.

And, and, I have a high bar for the multiple returns I am seeking from each allocation I make.

I want to 'feel' like it's worth it. On many levels.

I buy missions. Visions of what's possible, journeying with similarly passionate folk, who are bringing everything unique and authentic about them, with passion, to share with fellow travellers.

They make me feel that we are indeed on a quest together.

And who doesn't love one of those? A quest. Magical. Fun. Meaningful, because it holds the promise of some future I care about and want to see manifest.

They make the best, the most exciting, the most resonant, meaningful stories.

We've been enjoying them for millennia.

And here we are. My fellow community members and I, meeting back up to get on the road again. Into 2024. We've bought back into the mission. I'm sold. LFG!