Identity
Who are you? 

Are you Reaching your Fullest Capacity?
Who are You ?

There is nothing more essential, more core, to life than one’s identity. It is the lens through which all of life is perceived and evaluated. 

We all come with a complex history that demands our attention. Pushing past your limitations affects the fulfillment of your dreams.  

 The following thoughts will offer insights and wisdom through everyday musings on how to live just such a life.

FitzSpeaks - Identity

Becoming Fully Developed


By Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest from his book Falling Upward. I believe that God gives us our soul, our deepest identity, our true self, our unique blue print (or DNA) at our own immaculate conception (birth). Our unique little bit of heaven is installed by the manufacturer within the product at the beginning, we are given a span of years to discover it, to choose it, and to live our destiny to the full. If we do not, our true self in its unique form will never be offered (to mankind) again. 
Our souls discovery (or personhood) is utterly crucial, momentous, and of pressing importance for each of us and for the world…

All we can give back and all God wants from any of us is to humbly and proudly return that product we have been given. (in its fully developed form) 

You Become What You Steward




Age will not jump up and surprise you. It is courteous for the observant, slowly progressive and very methodical. You can only become then the person you are progressively becoming now. Refined but not necessarily refurbished. Build internally and relationally for eternity and carry the rest along as best you can.

Recalibration

Love this place. Sometimes miles from nowhere can be everywhere you’re supposed to be. 

In my lifetime I have probably graphed my life cycles several dozen times. Years of preparation cycles, followed by ramp up cycles that can also take years before you get perfectly positioned for a peak performance cycle that can also last years. Then comes that often necessary but unwelcome season of the scaling back down. Refinement, re-gearing, re-valuing and a new vista of the next mountain to climb, your next era. Sorry to say some of those cycles can take ten years. It all depends on how much social change, etc, you are to produce when you do show back up. It’s not that you’re unfruitful or hidden in the interim (while you may be); it’s just life is about change and changing your world. To do that you need some distinctives, and those on occasion can be developed “Miles from Nowhere”.

Action Item: Can you state clearly what phase of the cycle your current efforts are in and how will that ultimately impact your outcome.

Distinctly Inspirational





Wear your distinctives with distinction. What is it about you that is inspiring? Keep it central and present. If you’re not present then you’re not; to blend is to blend out. Shot this pic on my brother-in-law’s land 2012.

Action Item: Name the most dynamic or impacting part of your personhood or personality. What can you do to keep it more in focus and in the forefront of your daily life. 

Hidden Pearls


Is there a part of you that you keep to yourself? This picture taken in 2012 shows my knack for fashion and love of all things fast. The speed part always found an outlet but the knack for fashion until recently in reality found very limited expression. Why? First of all it was internal, I down played its value. And then because my culture downplayed it as well. Hence I came out as a much narrower version of myself. Thus I was less and therefore only able to offer less. As of the end of 2018 I'm changing that.  Going for the full expression.

Action Item: Is there a part of your personality, gifting, skill sets or interests that you have hidden, downplayed or kept private? What can you do to re identify yourself in a way that includes the fuller you? 

Systematically Original

Brownstones in Brooklyn. Caught the change of season in New York. For the past 35 years or so I have lived my life basically by the seasons, sometimes I add two together. Before each season begins I have a time of mental preparation which includes visioning, goal setting toward target objectives and then strategies to guide me through those months. 

At the close of each season there is always a time of evaluation and closure or the weaving of the current season into the newly defined next season. For me After three decades I feel it has made me very productive and I’m thankful for the focus and the discipline. 

Action Item: Give it a try. What have been your goals for the fourth quarter of 2018? Imagine how nice it would be to have had them clearly defined and then met. Multiply that by four for 2019 and believe me your life will go through a very significant upgrade. Again do it four times and you will find you will be one of the sharper knives in the drawer.

Dreaming and Dress Up

Dress up and dreaming. 

My mother always kept huge boxes in the attic full of dress up clothes. We used them as children, then our children used them and now our grandchildren use them. Dress up lets one dream beyond the clothes to designing plays and skits of excitedly imagined characters. 

Sad to say as adults we dress up less and less eventually, wearing the clothing of conformity leaving little to the imagination. Homogenized. 

Action item: Feeling a bit stale with a lack of shine? At least figuratively do a dress up. Try on some adventure. Spice things up a bit.

Be True To Yourself



In this initial season I have the challenge of being both the focus of the shot and the photographer. Here an iPhone can’t capture the true image because it just can’t balance the light and vibrant color. How about you? Finding life or your context just can’t get the accurate shot of who you really are, can’t balance your real inner worth with the color you’re trying to express it through? Well regardless, be true to yourself, be true to your own measurements. After all, if you don’t then your external image as well as your internal one will be not only off color but out of focus and bland as well.

Life Shaping Adventures

Do you want a map to follow or an amazing story to tell?
Here is a bit of a test. There are six teenagers in this raft. At Camp Franklin we mixed them up. Can you tell which three are American Christians or which three are Israeli Jews? 
No, you probably cannot even count six. In the exhilaration of the experience they both found a profound discovery in each other, in the raft and many times over since then. 

Doing something creative, innovative or just plain meaningful with others gives us the building blocks and the memories of having lived a life worth living.

Action Item: What are some of your best adventures and how have they shaped you? 

Pushing Through



I did blue today. It’s so important to find a way to feel and be comfortable in your own skin, even if there are parts of you that you would prefer to be different. Do I like being bald? No. Did I like having to battle cancer eight years ago? No. Some things you can’t change. But then there are things you can. Maximize those. These blue shoes were nice black shoes four days ago, but they weren’t up to my current level of creativity and expression so I redid them. I like them, I like them a lot. I pushed them in private, now they push me in public.

Make the World Better



Our driveway a few years ago on a beautiful fall day. Notice in the gentle decent, relaxation, serenity and a state of calm all begin to loosen off whatever one was doing out in life. 

Standing there, almost like so many of the elaborate stone estate entrances in our area, is not our gate but our greeter, a deer. Ready instead to welcome. A much truer version of who we are and what our land Lindisfarne represents. It’s from this place of sanctuary that we “Be” before we go out to “Do”. 

Whoever you are or wherever you are and whatever you’re called to do to make this a better world, take extra care that your place of being far transcends your capacity to give or even others capacity to receive out there.

Invest in Others

Balance and relationships. Invest in others. Among the absolute best benefits in life are our friendships. We bond, we dream together, we build, we do transitions with wisdom-counsel and emotional support. Many friendships thrive for a particular era of our lives and others can last decades. The best ones are not one directional but when both parties pour all in for the betterment of each other. In this exchange of rings with Ray Hughes at Scones Castle in Scotland I gave him my Israeli ring representing my history with Israel and he gave me a ring from Scotland representing his extensive history with Scotland and all things Celtic. Destinies internally and socially forged and then infused and welded into friendships are like massive mountains, deep oceans, and powerful rushing winds. Invest in others.

Action Item: Who are you investing in? And with what end in mind.

Revamp the Old


Bought these shoes fifteen years ago at an incredible sale; $24.00 at Macy’s in California. They were an unbelievably thoroughly disgusting ugly tan. Immediately switched to blue laces and infused character into the color. Over the years they have mellowed into a naturally subdued yet brilliant harmony of browns and cognac. Now we are like old friends, been so many places together. Eventually life settles in, you become friends with your history. Like an old shoe you have been this way before and it has conformed to you and you have put your mark on it. You can blend in if you choose because you have already stood out.

Ready for the Season






Ready for this season. I like refined and sophisticated but I also like raw and rugged.

Ordinarily Extraordinary



Love this end of our porch, so warm and welcoming. The ferns frame the window which in turn takes light and turns it into wonder.

Action item: What is something ordinary in your life that you make extraordinary?

Who Knew?

Israeli teens and cowboy boots too. Aaaw come on. Who knew. White water rafting, zip lines, recording in Nashville studios, speaking, listening, teens, senators, state representatives on the floor of the Tennessee capitol. Aaaw come on. Who knew 
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Stirs, memories of a music gig years ago, Knesset members right here in Leipers Fork. Cowboy hats, clogging and Willie Nelson too. Aaaw come on who knew! 
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Now we steal away, slipping into our woods. Hammer and nail, tape and saw, mind and heart re-shaping the deck we drew.
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Stately, silently it blends into the air, perched over a bluff known by just a few, so we prepare again for those to come for something new, Israeli friends, Knesset members too.
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Action Item: Tell some friends of tales of adventure in your life. Which new ones are you designing now?

Shoe Redo


My first shoe redo. People at the top of their field inspire me. These shoes are a very long way from the amazing shoes the professionals produce, but that actually is my point today.

When you want to move into a new field, do something you have never done before, be willing to climb back down the ladder of success you have achieved in your current filed and start over, sometimes from the first rung.

I have climbed back down many a ladder in order to climb a new one. I don’t ever intend to stop. If I did I would be wearing black shoes today.

What color are your shoes and how long have you been wearing them?

Morning Views




I love the morning views from our bedroom window. It’s amazing to me how a strong light can burst through almost any obstacle or obstruction. In the same way, filling our life with a strong light can clear away mental clouds, hindrances, and handicaps.

Invest in Others

Thanks for all the comments on my first shoe redo from black to blue, from expected to unexpected, originality and going for it. Then there is burgundy. These were a fairly nice brown and that is the point; fairly nice. 

Sometimes in life we don’t need the big changes; we simply need a sharper eye for what we have and where we want to take it. Add a little jazz, a tint of fresh dye and some polish and there you go. From fairly nice to present, poignant and purposeful.

Shake Up the Status Quo





Sometimes if you really want to change your culture, redefine norms, shake up the status quo you will need to be a strange bird and Re-Frame yourself in your own world.

Mild Adjustments

Mild adjustments can bring refreshing changes. This pair of Hugo Boss shoes was given to me by my son-in-law Bassam. He bought them as brown at a vintage shop in Manhattan and eventually they became a bit tired looking. I did the center red and polished the rest in a small but very noticeable tone upgrade. 

Are there things in your own life or in others around you that might remind you of the old and tired. Take a look from a different angle. Find the upgrade, put in some creativity and a bit of polish and it will all look better

Build Your Platform



If your world doesn’t offer you a platform, build your own! And remember to dance on it. Actually this philosophy has been the working standard for most of my life. 

Action Item: What have you had to build or are building that was forced into being because who you are bigger than the space given to you by others? 
Be specific.

What Color Do You Bring?



What are people left with when you walk away? Personal presence can have a staying power. Have they been inspired, impacted, challenged, comforted or encouraged? Do you leave fresh color in your wake?