An Applied R&D Lab Serving Solo and Family-based Entrepreneurs in Rural and Distressed Urban Communities

In Love and In Business...

The Ripple

A Valentine's Day Reflection

She made me promise I wouldn't do this.

Timlynn didn't notice I had my fingers crossed Saturday morning as we ran through the last minute exchange of loose ends. Minutes later I rushed her to the train station for her long ride to New Jersey and it was too late.

We won't have a chance to celebrate our 10th anniversary together today. Timlynn has to deal with something more immediate and more important than the annual celebration of our lives together. Her favorite Aunt died last week. Timlynn went to New Jersey to be with her Mom and family to celebrate a wonderful woman's life and passing.

I'm holding down the dojo, doing billable work on client deadlines so we can fuel the fire which is the vision for Sohodojo we share. You see, Sohodojo is all about the ripple for us.

Ten years ago today, we stood on the portico of the Zane Grey Hotel overlooking Avalon Bay on Catalina Island. We made a commitment to share all the joys and challenges of Life together, no matter what the Future may bring. It was a most beautiful place to make a most beautiful marriage vow. It is an incredible memory we share today despite the fact that we are hundreds of miles apart.

We probably suspected it then, and the years have proven it so. We were just a bit too old to have children together. Too old, even, to be good adoption candidates. And, truth be told, too busy trying to get 'there' where kids, Happiness, Success and all that other American Dream stuff lived... just over the horizon.

Happily, we've come to terms with all this and more. We're always doing the 'cup half empty, cup half full' exercise to help us balance our perspectives. We realize that our not having children has given us an unexpected gift.

As we all charge head-long into the 21st Century, Timlynn and I – the 'we' of our nanocorp – are in a perfect position to take risks and to measure success on our own terms. We don't have the added pressure of feeling that we have to pass on some wealth-oriented legacy to the next generation in the bloodline. No. The best we can do is create a ripple... to make a difference.

This is what Sohodojo is about for us. It is a web site 'wrapper' around a constellation of ideas that we care deeply about, and that we want to share. If we are lucky and persistent, these ideas may take on a life of their own. They may result in a Ripple Effect that is surely as real a legacy contribution into the Human Experience as is the contribution of genetic material.

So, Happy Valentine's Day, dear readers and visitors. We appreciate your efforts to follow us into the Deep Weeds, off the Beaten Path, looking to find our way to that Road Not Taken. It is true, the Journey is the reward. Thank you for sharing the experience with us.

And to Timlynn, the Love of My Life, have the Happiest Possible 10th Wedding Anniversary under such extreme circumstances. I am saving up a bunch of exciting new ideas to share with you upon your return home to the dojo.

And, Timlynn, as much today as this date ten years ago, I look forward to sharing all the joys and challenges of our Life together no matter what the Future may bring. Because one thing we have learned in these ten years together: Our vision of the Future gives our lives meaning today.

Happy Valentine's Day to All,
Jim Salmons
14 February 2000
Raleigh, NC USA

© 1998-2010 Jim Salmons and Timlynn Babitsky for Sohodojo | Our Privacy Statement
"War College" of the Small Is Good Business Revolution
Website design and hosting by Sohodojo Business Services,
A Portfolio Life nanocorp

[ Support Sohodojo ] [ Translate page ]
[ Search site ]