My Why

It really hasn’t been very long since I wrote about finding your Why.  Definitely not long enough but sometimes there is a topic that I just can’t get out of my head.

This is one of those times.  Oh, maybe it is inspiration and maybe it’s laziness although I’m rarely accused of the latter, but I’m going to talk about it again.

I pulled that old column out in an attempt to not repeat myself but I know that’s going to be hard. In it, I talked about my role as a teacher, a preacher, and a cheerleader. I talked about enjoying life and being positive.

I used that last bit at Camp Blackberry last week. If I started feeling negative vibes from one of the grandkids, I encouraged them to counter those negative vibes with positive vibes. It worked. Sometimes.

Who am I? I am a physical therapist, an athletic trainer, a husband/father/grandfather. I’m a biker and a farmer. But that still doesn’t tell you why I’m here. And after rereading that other column on this topic, I realized that those things are more who I am. My Why is more basic than that.

Now this is about to turn sappy so if you don’t want that from me today, just turn the page.

I’ve always thought that part of who I am is defined by my role as a physical therapist/athletic trainer. But I’ll retire one day, either by my choice or not, and I worry about whether or not that part of me will die. I don’t want to lose that part of me. It’s important to me.

Who I am is so wrapped up in all that. I have great fear that I will lose my identity when that day comes. And it will come. Sooner or later.

I love what I do. I’ll not say that I’m a good physical therapist—I’ll leave that up for someone else to decide. But I am a compassionate physical therapist and when you are my patient, you get someone who truly cares about you, who is truly interested in your best health.

But is that who I am? No, I think that just defines me, maybe defines my role in the workforce. It’s how I serve others. It’s how I’ve served this community for over 40 years.

So let’s get back to my Why.

I believe we are here to love each other and we do that by serving one another. In whatever manner, with whatever skillset that we have.

I believe that we are here to change the world.  That world may be inside your four walls but it may be the universe. I grew up with few having high expectations for me. That’s why I now encourage kids to aim for the moon.

I believe that everything we do should be based on love for each other.

If you’ve made it this far, you may think that I’m about to announce my retirement. Not. Gonna. Happen. Not yet, anyway.

I’m still at work, seeing patients at Total Rehabilitation-Cherokee. You won’t find me on the sidelines of MHS football anymore but that just means that my work week is more sane.

My Why will never change, but eventually, my venue will. And that’s OK too.