Purpose
I think it started with Service....
But it may have started with running from the police....
Well, let me explain....
Actually, my mom told me that somehow I managed to open the gate keeping me in the yard and waddled myself down the road. I was picked up by the state police before I could get too far. (Today such an event would result in jail time, or worse. I don't know if Child Services existed in the early 50s.) As for the...
Second time, after I learned to walk, I was brought along when she went shopping. So, I simply headed to the exit while my mom was destracted and I made a break for it. So the tale was told, that an alert sales associate retrieved me. Apparently I told the sales associate that I thought my mom was lost.
Sunflower with friend. Look carefully.
Yes, this sounds trite, even facile, but I believe, doing what you enjoy, such that it is fulfilling and improves your ability to make it better, helping others, living within your means and participating in civic life makes you a Happy Person. What do you think?
A Life of Learning, Teaching, Mentoring,
Writing, Travel, and Service.
I was a happy kid but didn't think I was cut out to become a professor until I was 29! My life's purpose was to contribute to the betterment of society - wherever I lived. And it still is! No wonder learning has been such an essential part of my life including teaching and writing.
The love of books has been ever-present in
my life.
This photo on the left is a recent section of my study. At the top is an area of several of my published books.
UConn, B.A.
My academic life began with UConn where I learned it was nearby in Connecticut and not really a Province in Canada. My undergrad degree was in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences where I earned a B.A. in Political Science & American History where I was proud of my studies and not derided as "woke."
Southern Connecticut State College, M.S.
An M.S. degree and a High School Social Science Education /History teaching credential followed.
UConn,
Ph.D.
Already disillusioned about the management of school systems as penal colonies and not centers of learning and personal growth, my dissertation studies focused on alternative school management and eupsychian management systems meaning "toward psychologically healthly human systems" and organizational culture.
M.B.A. (Business) +
M.F.A.
(Fine Arts)
Completing two more professional masters degrees - one in Business and one in Fine Arts (non-fiction writing), rounding my preparation for life and mentoring.
My first non
school-related course!
I was one of the youngest (16 years-old) voluneers to work at the Manhattan Control Center of NYC Civil Defense a year after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. This was the handbook (right) to help provide guidance to volunteers in the event of a nuclear exchange with the US and the USSR (Russia) if anyone was around to help the recovery. The course was Psychological First Aid in Community Disasters. Even today, discussing these weapons is a testament to the fact that little progress has been made with diplomacy.....
The Global Institute for
Leadership Development
The emphasis of my studies has been on understanding two objectives: 1) improvement of collective effectiveness; and 2) the enjoyment of the personal experience of working with others and sharing the benefits of productive effort. I have shared what I learned and helped others learn the importance of creating a workplace that reflects both points.
Back to Purpose.....
In a nutshell, (not to be tooooo obsessive about this) when I asked my father what he thought the purpose of life was, he seemed to have a prepared answer: pay your bills! Wait, what? That's it? Nothing a bit more poetic to add?
How about, "Leave the world a better place than you found it?" As simple as that? He was only 59 when he died and I guess he felt he did his bit all along, but we never really talked about it. Did he leave the world a better place? How does one know, really? Clearly, he tried. As I understood his life's work, it seemed so. What does the idea of one's "life's work" even mean?
How about starting out just being a decent human being, and go from there. I know, what is that anyway? My guess is you have a pretty good idea. Give it a try.
And, who does the audit? Is there a real material difference between trying and accomplishment? Is it really a material yardstick? Like a CSR (Community Social Responsibility) personal index like the Chinese were trying to measure in terms of a literal individual number that indicated your standing in the community. Maybe WE should develop one? Each good work among all the aspects of personal and community life could carry a value or, similarly, a demerit. Hmm. In that case you knew one's value but no one's purpose which, back to the original question, what is YOUR purpose.
Sometimes you just got to cut through all the distractions, and gnarleyness of the knots to reach your bliss....
