Good morning from St. Moritz. I’m actually in Pontresina just outside of St. Moritz. I have been coming here with my friends for over 20 years. Even though I don’t know how to ski, I absolutely love taking long walks through the forest with my dear friend Annalisa whose birthday we are here to celebrate.
On to what I wanted to talk about today. I have this word moonshot. rumbling through the back of my mind. It has to do with the news this past week. Maria Shriver was kind of everywhere talking about her tenacious advocacy for more information and more concerted effort to focus on women in many different aspects of medical research. Anyway, this word moonshot kept coming up in the news and I’m thinking about it for a couple of different reasons. First and foremost, I’ve talked in the past about my longing to be working on something that feels important or bigger than me. Some sort of legacy contribution. It’s a longing I have, and I’ll admit to a little bit of envy for people who do have that in their lives.
I remember right before I left New York City, I went on a date with a man who has dedicated his entire life to researching AIDS. When you’re around him, you sort of know that in his life everything to his mission. I’m sure that has its downsides to it, but it’s also incredibly inspiring to see someone so focused and driven and feeling a deep sense of purpose. When I hear that word moonshot, this is the sort of thing that comes up for me. In fact I often wonder what a moonshot would look like for me.
It’s funny this morning as I was sitting here with my coffee I was thinking to myself that for some people – for a recovering alcoholic or drug addict, for example – a moonshot may be simply getting through the day. Or for someone who’s in a difficult situation with a child, a marriage or a job the moonshot may be much closer in. And it may simply be getting through the week or the month, or whatever that timeline looks like. So, when you flip it and the moonshot isn’t all about some big audacious goal, you start closer in.
I would say right now my moonshot is getting through the next couple of weeks of Dear Constance. I have been completely tongue tied. It’s been incredibly challenging for me. I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m in a moment where I’m not as contemplative as usual, or probably a better way to say that would be I’m so present to what’s happening in my life right now. I’m in a transition, ending one phase and moving closer and closer towards returning to New York, and I simply feel like I don’t have a lot to say. Or perhaps better said, I haven’t taken the time to sit with the many things that are going through my head these days. So yeah. That’s my moonshot right now. It’s sitting right in front of me and instead of looking over yonder, I’m starting much closer in. I’m reminding myself that moonshots come in many different shapes and forms and sometimes you simply need to start close in. So that’s my note to self for the day. What’s your moonshot this week?
I’ll leave you with that until next time from my heart to yours.
