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Ok, so enough time has passed since the release of @hankgreen's “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” that I can share thoughts with minor spoilers. That being said, if you are still waiting to read ABFE for some inexplicable reason, this thread is not for you. 1/13
I’m writing this thread because ABFE includes one of the single most impactful pieces of fiction prose that I’ve encountered in my life. This is of course when Andy reads Carl’s words that say 2/13
“You will always struggle with not feeling productive until you accept that your own joy can be something you produce. It is not the only thing you will make, nor should it be, but it is something valuable and beautiful”. 3/13
aluable and beautiful. My own joy is _valuable and beautiful_. I had to set my tablet down for a moment after I read that line and let it really sink in. To be honest, I had to take a moment to cry. Never before have I been told that my joy is valuable and 4/13
beautiful and worth producing, and I didn’t realize until reading that line how much it had impacted me. For as long as I can remember, I have been an overachieving, overcommitted, overproducing machine. 5/13
My mom and I still joke that I can only get anything done if I have 10 different things to do at any given moment, and I’ve been that way since middle school. I wanted good grades, to get into a good college, to excel in my extra curricular activities, 6/13
to excel in college (and towards the end there, to complete college at all!), to perform highly in my career, to serve well in my ministry, to excel in graduate school, to _accomplish things_. I have, by God’s blessing, through the support of my incredible parents, 7/13
accomplished a reasonable amount of things for a person my age. I have a career that I enjoy and that allows me to provide for myself, and an opportunity for ministry with an incredible community of people. 8/13
However, until I read that simple piece of affirmation that Carl shared with Andy, I never felt _successful_. 9/13
In the moment that I read it, every smile that I smiled and every moment I shared with friends rushed through me all at once. Every raised glass and warm embrace and hearty smile filled me up and I, for the first time, believed in their value. 10/13
I am immeasurably successful because of the people in my life that God has graced me with the opportunity to love. I am abundantly wealthy because of the shared experiences wherein we worked together to produce our mutual joy. 11/13
I am even comfortably well off from the days where I clocked out early, made myself my favorite meal, and sat down to watch a good movie.
Thank you @hankgreen for writing the words I needed to read to understand the abundance in my life, I will always appreciate it. 12/13
Thank you @hankgreen for writing the words I needed to read to understand the abundance in my life, I will always appreciate it. 12/13
And if you haven't read "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" and "A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor", I strongly recommend you add them to your list. Also, if for some reason you read all 13 of these, thanks! I hope they've reminded you of the wealth you possess. 13/13
