What’s your purpose?
That’s a good question. I used to think that having a purpose meant a life painted in grand gestures, things like athletic accomplishments, a cure for cancer, Instagram celebrity.
Now that I’m a bit older, I’ve found that most purposeful lives are built from small acts that are impactful in ways we may never know. Timely conversations, a soft word, honest opinions, a simple note. Together those create purposefulness, and over decades, a purposeful life. Every life has a purpose. Whether we channel that into a purposeful life – one that helps others in some way – is defined by our conduct and character.
WKYC’s Leon Bibb, featured on this issue’s cover, leads a purposeful life, but I’ll put him more in the grand gestures category. He reaches thousands of viewers each week telling stories – lots of stories – that remind us why NEO is an interesting place to live. I think you’ll find his comments thought-provoking in our wide-ranging interview that starts on Page 26.
NEO freelance writer Estelle Rodis-Brown writes about Good Deed Trips and why they can change lives (Page 30). There’s nothing quite like reading to children in a Central American village or bringing medicine to sick people to not only change their lives, but also your own. Estelle also gives us a first-hand account of her own Good Deed Trip experiences.
If your purpose is roaming through flower beds, you’ll enjoy our guide to gardens that are designed to impress and inspire (Page 24). And if you’re leaning more toward grandparenting as an element of a purposeful life, don’t miss our NEO Grandparent section that includes a story about curating a child’s library with books that are both socially conscious and just plain fun.
I also want to make a pitch for our Boomer Bash West, set for May 1 at LaCentre in Westlake.
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