Why The Crossroads?
…asked absolutely no one
It’s tough picking names, at least it is for me. While I have a certain skill at naming pets (Ernest Hamsterway, Benjamin Franklin Bunny, Gingrich the Newt), figuring out how I want to present myself in the world has challenges. I want to be serious, yet engaging; whimsical, yet grounded; current, yet timeless: the struggle is real. My aim is to make The Crossroads a newsletter that explores the intersection where story meets action, where I delve into writing, coaching, travel and paradigm shifts.
Where story meets action in writing: For non-writers out there, it may come as a surprise that writing has rules, rules that are as iron-clad as structural rules engineers must follow for a bridge to stand. Neglect the rules for writing and you’ll see the story crumble before your eyes. Within a story, a protagonist must be reminded of the dangers of inaction, where they are pushed into making a choice. These parts of the story are called pinch points. The character may be at a literal or metaphorical crossroads, and it’s the part of fiction I love best, when you see a character’s growth through the actions she chooses.
Where story meets action in coaching: I thrive in beginnings and endings. I embrace change and I’m always the first to cheerlead someone toward the life they desire, no matter how different it may look from where they presently stand. I feel that these transition points are a metaphorical crossroads, and I love to be the sherpa who helps plan a route towards someone’s long-held dream. I think the quote by Susan York in Naked to Mine Enemies sums up my feelings about the role of intersections in our personal development: “All of us, at some point in our lives, reach a crossroads. We can then realize ourselves, or we can become what other people make us.”
Where story meets action in travel: Travel forces choices—where to go, which direction to turn, what to try and when to stop. I’ve stood at literal crossroads having no idea which road would take me to bliss and which to danger. So far, except for almost drowning in Hawaii and Thailand, I’ve avoided the danger. Robert Frost may have taken the less traveled road, when he came across two roads that diverged in the woods, but I say, well-travelled or not, at least get out there on the road.
Where story meets action at The Crossroads: There’s a tale that’s mostly untrue, or maybe totally true, who cares? A fledgling musician walked down to the crossroads and exchanged his soul to the devil for the ability to be the best damn guitar player in the world. I can see it: the clear dark night, croaking frogs, and two dusty roads converging. A young Robert Johnson, with dubious talent, plucked out a few notes while the devil patiently waited to make the trade. It feels like something dangerous yet important started there. Not a death so much as a birth, the birth of blues, country, soul, rock, pop and metal. The birth of the soundtrack of our lives.
Are you ready to stand at the crossroads with me?