The Village

The reality of our situation as human beings is that we are innately social creatures. We need and seek out support, reinforcement and engagement with others like ourselves. Desmond Morris called it "The Human Zoo." Hilary Clinton said, yes, "It takes a village." I say we are our own village, and create our own parachutes -- out of spider-like webs and connections that stretch so far, and often so thinly, that perhaps we never realize that we have become disconnected at all. We count on the parachute to save us, even sometimes when it isn't there anymore, because we've drawn the web out so far, made it so thin, so faint, that we never felt it fall away.

I'm launching my life blog today in honor of my great friend Michael Zivick, who died last year, March 2007. Despite our 18+ year friendship, it was nearly a year before I found out that he was gone. I am sad, and grief-stricken, and riddled with guilt. How could I have not known, or not been present, or simply just disappeared from the life of someone who meant so much to me -- a man who was a true light, an inspiration, and probably the coolest guy I have ever met? I have pulled out photos, and emailed our common friends, and contacted my friends who met him over the years... and there is no single answer. Perhaps there are many answers.

So to honor the perils and charms of civilization... I begin my social quest and launch my blog, with the goal to encourage a life that fulfills a personal destiny, and to remind us that it's not only how we live but who we live it with, and how we can throughout the journey share the successes and trials as well as embrace all that brings us joy.

As I launch these pages, I remind myself that I am here to honor his spirit and the connections that we all have, even those that slip away in the night. Life keeps going.

Happy 2008.