Processing the Overload of Inspiration

 "The roadmap is yours! GO MAKE YOUR MAP!"

Zest is in full swing here at the Aspen Institute this week. The Aspen Ideas Festival is taking off and thousands have flocked to the base of the hills to be inspired by leaders in the fields of health, government, religion, environmental studies, technology and international affairs. Its not uncommon to pass Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Summers, Katie Couric, the Surgeon General, among others, as they walk around the campus to various talks and lectures.  My role in all of this has been to be hands wherever I am needed, and through my various jobs I have been lucky enough to listen to the conversations and presentations that are taking place. There is no dull conversation, no irrelevant speech, all are enriching and inspirational.  There is so much to process that I am overwhelmed, but I want to record my thoughts and the thoughts the speakers have shared in order to begin to understand all the brilliance I have experienced in the past few days.  Specifically, in this post I want to focus on the inspiring words of a few women leaders I encountered during the festival.

A few nights ago, I went to a fascinating panel where eighteen women who are leaders in their respective fields spoke on their experience as women doing their jobs and living purposeful lives. Their advice was empowering, especially to a young woman looking to figure out what the hell she is doing after she graduates college.  It was in the freedom for which they advocated that I found focus and guidance.  A theme of their wisdom was living life in the "and." These leaders advocated that young women not limit themselves, but live full lives in whatever fulfilling directions they decide, even if the ways are multiple and seemingly conflicting.  One theme I especially attached to was the call to "never import other people's limitations. The roadmap is yours! GO MAKE YOUR MAP!"

It was ironic that the topic of maps was brought up in the discussion had by those women, because this past week I had a major edit to my own roadmap.  On Tuesday I broke up with my boyfriend.  I realized he was going in a different direction  than me, and he was not unwilling, but more unable, to appreciate the path down which I wanted to take my life.

The chance to listen to the women on this panel share how they had designed their own maps of life allowed me the opportunity to re-imagine mine with the wisdom and guidance of their leadership stories.Their call for young women to live with humility and fearlessness in the face of our own journeys in life inspired me as I prepare for my final year of college and the next step beyond amidst this new change to which I am adjusting.  Though I am still unsure of what direction my life will take and where I shall next explore,  this conversation has prompted me to pull out my roadmap, erase a few pathways and sketch new possibilities.