Blog draft mar 9 26

Pulling It Together

There are many ways to get organized, become a focused mind, or whatever. Endless possibilities pop to mind. However, when I settle into this task, I find focus somewhat absent. Which topic is more important? Is something holding me back from accomplishing something important? What purpose am I serving? Is that aimless or impactful?

The answers are as varied as the topics are under consideration. What do we pull together, why this one first and not second? And so, this inner mind discussion goes on. And on!

Categories of topics grabbing my attention are these: world affairs, national political news and the direction they are trending, personal family matters, personal purpose questions,  travel opportunities, writing topics, financial management, and so on. I am not sure if it is normal, but I spend time wondering if I have spent my life accomplishing worthwhile aims. Did the work and time invested in such activities pay off? How is that measured? Who accounts for this?

I’ve spent nearly my entire life in nonprofit organizations. Religious groups, schools, university, credit unions and medical offices. Although my work was often in strategic planning, that work entailed gaining a lot of knowledge about client operations, interpersonal management skills, technology applications, marketing, accounting and finance. Credit union work spanned 50 years. Planning 35 or more years. Education and group dynamics were woven throughout my 60-year career. Did all this produce measurable benefits to others?

My personal gain was a decent standard of living, college educations for both the kids, a divorce, a second marriage and a retirement that is comfortable. The latter not always so due to the divorce, but in the end, retirement income caught up to a reasonably comfortable retirement. But what of others?

I focused a lot of energy on community relationships as well. Those were wonderful experiences for me. Did the community benefit and how?

You see what I mean by pulling it together? So many threads involved. So much interweaving. The results as intended may be good or bad. It’s the measuring that slips our notice. What then can we say about goals and reaching them?

March 9, 2026

  

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