2008 Happenstance

I am a firm believer in happenstance. Some would say you need to make things happen. There are so many forces beyond our control that credence with what lies before us may lead to a better path. I would attribute such as a formula for my content and fulfillment, more so in recent years.
Last year marked the achievement of traveling all the way around the world. That lifetime goal opened up with many business opportunities in the Orient since 2003. Several times I laid the groundwork, but accommodating business schedules had not allowed plans to take place. In August, two deals in Shanghai did not fall into a sequence, so it was necessary to make two trips inside of six weeks. With the first, I had a few extra days to see the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi’an. For the second trip, I thought of venturing into Mongolia, but political unrest there left me scrambling for a plan B two weeks before I was needed in Shanghai. Hastily I threw together the triumph of a seasoned traveler and added Kenya, Ethiopia, and Morocco to my list of sixty-four countries that good fortune has allowed me to visit. I was able to include a stop to revisit Ghana and find the family I worked with thirty-two years ago.
In February, a couple days of business in Turkey provided a week to wander and wonder in the historic streets of Istanbul. Of the nearly one hundred and fifty pins on my world map, Istanbul is significantly aided by the cooperation of Kerem whose business brought me there.
Working a trade show in Cleveland allowed me to enjoy what’s new downtown. Dining on lobster is better along the coast of Maine, particularly when in the company of a special friend. My lovely daughter made my birthday quite pleasant when I flew to Tampa that weekend. My brother and his wife uphold Thanksgiving as a family tradition during my now annual trip to Colorado.
After thirty years of business, I may be basking in success, at least by my measurements. I am concerned about traditional skills with a desire to support those gifted and devoted. Fine dining at better restaurants will exemplify manner and reward the expertise of a premier chef. The enjoyment of great wine is a level of endorsement for a vintner’s craft. Much joy comes from witnessing classical music presented by near monastic devotion of a musician for their work. Artwork, in its many forms of expression, should invoke beauty and purpose in creative imagination. Primitive cultures warrant preservation, allegiance, and undying respect.
Being open to what life has to offer is merit within itself. Good fortune is not a monetary prize but a reward for the consequences of your folly.