At the buffet of life, do you know what to choose? And what not to? That second trip is never as good as the first. More isn’t always better. Quality over quantity is commonly crooned, but we always seem to want more, even when we don’t think that we do. It’s a slippery slope of up-selling, need-tweaking, and want-wanking. It feels that way, doesn’t it? A big part of my transformation adventure is being brutally honest with myself. Not being brutal to myself, but not letting me justify and assume away truths that impact my well-being and those around me. You see, wanting more doesn’t imply the discernment of what is right for me. In our consumer-based society, we are driven away from contentment on a daily basis. This infiltrates our work life and fuels those protectors of the status quo with their fight and might. They’ve found their contentment and are looking for others’ discerning powers when they dare to suggest new ways of doing things and new things to try. They’ve finally made peace with yester-year’s innovations that have become today’s status quo. They are full to the brim of adapting and learning. They need to rest and digest. We all have different metabolisms and process what we take in at different rates.

In my transformation adventure, I discovered that I needed to honor my processing rate and methods. I learned that different inputs, at a more manageable rate (and healthier preparations), were easier to digest and convert to fuel, and thus were readily applied on the job. I also found out that certain inputs were toxic to me, and I could never digest them, and even if I did, they served no constructive purpose. That was my ah-ha moment which filled me with a surge of empathy for the protectors of the status quo. They couldn’t see the purpose—enough purpose—to justify the disruption of their current contentment in a world where everything was urgent but never deemed important. And so I write…to share their stories and how they are intertwined with yours and mine. On a quest for contentment, I begin my mission of mercy.