I have put a lot of thought over the last couple of months about intuition and logic. For the basic fact that much of what we are doing is rooted in intuition, not logic. In fact, on paper much of this flies in the face of good logic. In pursuing this venture there are some very big decisions that we have had to make that do not make logical sense. Lets take a look at 3 big ones.
1. We are selling our house in Madison, WI that has shown a steady increase in value over the last 20 years. In its place we have purchased 2 depreciating assets. Probably not a move your financial advisor would suggest.
2. I am leaving a very stable well paying job of 26 years that has been extremely good to me. They have provided growth opportunities which have allowed me experience different roles within the company. Through the darkest time of my life, they stuck with me and encouraged me to seek help for my alcoholism instead of just cutting ties. And when I needed to be closer to home to care for Colleen, they created a position for me. The next opportunity has not yet revealed itself as we venture out.
3. Colleen requires more care as time passes. It would make sense to remain in a community that offers many services to support her growing needs. Instead we are heading out on the road where conditions will be ever changing.
Looking at this on paper, some may say that it simply is not logical for us to make this move. And to them I would have to say “I agree”. Logical it is not. Although, prior to this decision we had everything in place to offer safety and security, however there was something clearly missing. I vividly remember the day we made this decision. When I saw Colleens face light up it was like when the last pin tumbler of a padlock falls into place and the lock opens. It just felt right. It is almost as if we were drawn to the decision. That is all it took.
This week a good friend of mine brought to light a portion of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “IF”.
“If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’”
And as we walk through this experience it is like that. We are laying it on the line for a chance to experience something truly great without regret. Despite how this plays out, we accept the result. We are not letting our circumstances dictate how we will live our lives no matter how illogical it may be.
