The Long Search for Permanence

Carrying with me a wound of uncertainty, I have long sought a sense of permanence. I looked for it in a traditional marriage. I sought it through a simple, yet rigid religious system. I looked for it in ideology. I looked for it in my passions. I sought it in pursuing the American Dream. I searched for it in travel. I sought it in my career and business ventures. But these all shifted, corrupted or evolved.

“Where is the foundation of rock?” my soul cried. I found it right where Jesus said it was: INSIDE.

I first found it in moving to Austin. People ask me all the time, “why did you move to Austin?” I’ve usually provided a variety of answers — some serious and some glib. Now I just say “it is where I belong.” I realize this too may change. But Austin has certainly been the environment from which I could do this inner work.

I discovered permanence in a variety of ways and places. I found it in a connection to God, the divine. I found it sitting in the seat of consciousness. I found it in my mission. I found it in my worth. I found it in nature — with its great paradox of movement and stillness. I found permanence in seeing God in everything and everyone. I found it in loving and serving others.

And I found permanence in my work:

• Returning others to their true selves