Marlow's Musings 10/20/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
My baby brother was near death.
Only a year earlier Paul had been a healthy man teaching music as a high school marching band director. Then suddenly and without warning an autoimmune condition began destroying his liver.
He was immediately placed on the transplant list and moved near the top shortly after.
Then the call came. A liver was available. Bad news came soon after that the donor's liver wasn't viable.
Another near miss with a second non-viable liver and then nothing.
Months of nothing.
Then on this day five years ago, my late father's birthday, another call came, and this one was THE one. A liver had become available, and my brother was on his way to the hospital.
The doctors have told Paul this was a perfect liver for him, right down to the size of the connecting points.
He has returned to health, and I have my baby brother again.
He was so far along that doctors were ready to take almost any liver that was even a partial match.
And then the perfect one came.
If you are waiting for something perfect to come along, hang on. There will be near misses and things that seem 'perfect' that don't work out.
Your miracle may be just around the corner.
Hang on.
Word of the Week
Persevere (v.)
per·se·vere
To continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success.
To persist in what one has undertaken, to pursue steadily a design or course
Older meanings of persevere focus on continuing and enduring, while some ancient root words speak of one who masters and overcomes, or of power and victory.
In case you missed it…
This week, there were again two Ikigai Thoughts for Today…
The first…Endless Creation features insights from renowned painter Arshile Gorky on the endless nature of creativity and how it relates to our personal Ikigai.
The second…Pears, Pickles, and the Power of Not Yet
A heartwarming encounter with my grandson teaches us about a growth mindset and the beauty of 'not yet' in our quest.
Ikiquest+
This week’s Coffee Contemplation: Between the Nuance
This week is a special type of reflection as I explore the nuanced space between two powerful ideas: our childhood "weirdness" and how we become the person who would have saved our younger selves.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to it in audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, give it a try for free by clicking the box here.
Comment of the Week:
There were so many wonderful comments this week and I will share two from Pears, Pickles, and the Power of Not Yet.
The first is from Teyani…
“OMGosh I fall even deeper in love with your grandson with every story. ‘Not yet’ is a perfect answer to so many of life’s questions. Wow, wise before his time.”
The second from Lisa…
What a lovely illustration of the growth mindset, expressed naturally. That sense of future possibilities stretching out endlessly in front of us...
Of course, I already love this ‘not yet’ story because it is one of my favorites about my oldest grandson. I love it even more that it speaks so powerfully of the right frame of mind to uncover our Ikigai.
Thanks to Teyani and Lisa and many others for their comments and conversation.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from the late Timothy Keller…
When work is your identity, if you are successful it goes to your head, if you are a failure it goes to your heart.
Final Thoughts
This week I’m grateful for my baby brother who is now in his 60s and a grandfather many times over. Something five years ago we didn’t know if he’d ever experience.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. To forget the blessings we’ve been given, even the miraculous ones.
Quest Well.
It's heart warming to read that your brother got his miracle. And ... your choice of 'Persevere' delights me. Persevering is one of the core human patterns. Without persevering, nothing someone begins is ever finished.
What a story! Gosh! Glad he is still with you.