Identified, Authored, and Dappered
Last year, I embarked on an adventure to find out who Greg is. I searched in a lot of wrong places to find myself...hehehe I did some meetups that I thought were fun in the moment. But later realized they weren't so healthy for who I was...LOL At least I discovered something I didn't like doing. You live and you learn, right?!?
Well, I didn't actually find out much about myself at first. I'd say, I learned more about who God is in my life. I definitely see that as a good thing. He put up some guardrails in my path to keep me from straying too far with the groups I was meeting up with last year...hehehe I eventually got burned out from my search. By October last year, I decided I didn't need to find out who Greg is. I needed to find out who God is.
Having had some amazing experiences learning more about God last year, I decided I would focus solely on finding out more about who God is this year. It all began as a commitment to making God my priority when I woke up each day. That daily focus then led to doing personal devotionals and a Bible in a Year reading plan. And those led me to a fellowship of doing devotionals, and now a Bible study, with Cherie. In the process of learning about God, I actually found out a lot about myself.
I find it amazing how when I was looking for myself last year, I found God. When I was looking for God this year, I found me...hehehe You see, the devotionals and Bible study are showing me who I am in God's Kingdom. You might say I was lost, but now I'm found...LOL I found my purpose. That is to praise and glorify God. Seeking Him first has now led me to the answer for that question I had nearly 2 years ago...who is Greg? Or to put it another way, Who's is Greg? I am God's...my identity is in God.
I haven't been writing so much about what I've been doing lately. I would like to get back to doing that. I seem to have seasons of thinking and writing deep thoughts. While other seasons are more laid back and describe my life as it is happening. What I've been doing lately is meditating on my year. This is the last month of the year, after all...hehehe
Aside from being in deep thought, I've been on a few adventures lately. I just haven't written much about them. I'm not sure if I'll get around to writing about everything. I'm a little sad about that. But I'm also excited about all the deep thinking. This has been the best year of my life. So, I have so much to think about.
I started off the year with a goal to finish writing my first official book. Even as I type, I'm looking at the Daruma doll I bought in the Japan pavilion at EPCOT last year as a good luck charm of sorts. Per tradition, I colored in its left eye. If the wish I made came true this year, I was to color in its right eye. My wish was to finish my first book...LOL I will not be coloring in that right eye...LOL
I'm chuckling to myself literally as I think about how that's okay. You see, I'm actually finishing the year with a few new writing projects starting up. I'll not finish any of them before the end of the year. But I'm already on a good pace to have a book or two to publish in 2025. But this time, I'm taking my time and chipping away at them little by little. Instead of setting a goal, I'm simply doing what I can in the moments I can work on them. As a result, I've actually made significant progress. Even that book I had planned to finish this year might actually get finished...LOL Just not this year...LOL
The original project has evolved into something else entirely, though. So, that idea that I set a goal of to finish this year isn't anything like it was a year ago. There are still pieces of its DNA in there. But I think I like what it is becoming more so than what it was originally. I can't complain about that, now can I?!?
I've really enjoyed doing the dapper thing lately. I especially enjoyed the latest Dapper Day at Hollywood Studios. So many folks participated. Last week, I decided to join a few Disney dapper and Disney bounding Facebook groups. I'm hoping to connect with folks from that world. I engaged with a few of the people on Saturday. But nothing really sparked this time. I didn't expect anything, of course. But I did appreciate the little interactions I did get to have with folks.
This is a new community for me. I'll be patient as I slowly engage over time. I did a few posts in the groups already. I've received some positive reactions. I see people on most social media platforms doing these things. But the Facebook groups are where I'm currently seeing the conversations. So, I'll probably find people to talk to in there. Maybe I'll start meeting them as well. I'll be cautious, though. I don't want a repeat of the meetups last year...LOL Of course, it's not like I'm trying to find myself anymore...hehehe I'm more guarded now...hehehe
I'm looking forward to my trip to Indiana this weekend. I think my family is excited too. It will be a short one. I leave late Friday and head home late Sunday. Overall, I'll be in Indiana less than 48 hours. So, one of my shortest trips. I'm looking to make more frequent trips next year. Last year, and this year, I have only gone up twice both years. I'm going to make more of an effort in the coming year. One of the reasons I didn't go up so much last year was because my parents and son came down to me a few times as well. This year, my parents came down a few times. But Malachi did not come down at all. I wasn't prepared for that. So, I didn't plan well for making trips up...hehehe Next year, I'll count on him not coming down and plan to go up often. Even if he does end up coming down a few times, I'll still go up.