Integration Four 29 April 2022 Moreau Almost There, Never Finished In large part, I don’t believe that we should ever be individuals solely motivated by an organization outside of ourselves. Though our time on Earth is in fact transient, humans should not define the seemingly timeless idea of our own “mission” in terms of the temporary organizations with which we come to associate during our lifetimes. In spite of the fact that “We naturally tend to think of our lives as kind of continuing and continuing” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You To Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham, Moreau FYE Week 3), we must limit our mission statement with full acknowledgment of our death. Just as the mission of a university is timeless and does not depend on any external bodies, so too should the personal mission statements of humans be largely independent of their surroundings. My mission statement is personal. All the same, though, humans are intrinsically products of our environments and therefore define our missions in accordance with our lived experience. My mission statement is motivated much by my upbringing and will always be so. Take for example the plight of Fr. Greg Boyle, who dedicates his life in the spirit that “sometimes you’re thrown into each other’s jurisdiction, and that feels better than living, as the Buddhusts say, in the ‘illusion of separateness.’” (“Tattoos on The Heart” by Fr. Greg Boyle, Moreau FYE Week 7). Fr. Boyle has an unrelenting identity that’s rooted in the organization which he’s founded and to which he’s dedicated his life—Homeboy Industries. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/41005/files/523987?module_item_id=168024 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/41005/files/523987?module_item_id=168024 However, his life mission isn’t just organizational; at its core, he’s rooted himself personally in that endeavor. Just the same, the organizations which I’ve come to love don’t define me. With that said, my environments have motivated me to pursue several obligations and aspirations, which include (in no particular order): taking steps to become an independent person through experience and education, always remembering and paying homage to family, maintaining (or growing into) an equanimity of mind, keeping the good of humanity at the forefront of all my professional decisions, and proceeding with a charge to enjoy life as it is. It can often be easier to define what one’s mission is not rather than what is. This tendency is not entirely undisciplined and is in fact a core of my own mission. The world presents us many forces, options, thoughts, ideas, and people that may shape and influence our mission. Many of these forces will prove to be net evils or negative influences and, as such, it is my mission to discern between the many forces in life and choose which are good and which are not. Life is by no means a binary experience, but the universe does have a semblance of parity to it which allows for right and wrong decisions. This is objective morality. Much of my mission concerns itself with sifting through life, determining what is good, and taking on all of the perceived good. Trying to identify what is and isn’t truth is also a goal of my mission for which Prof. Paul Blaschko guides us to “be intentional about the information we expose ourselves to, seeking out intelligent people with whom we disagree and attempting to fully understand their arguments.” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Paul Blaschko, Moreau FYE Week 11.) As evidenced by the title of Dr. Tasha Eurich’s Ted.com article, there is a right and wrong way to reflect and look at our lives. As opposed to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND spending valuable time and energy toward wearing myself out with “why” questions , I’d like to “Instead…ask “What am I feeling right now?”. (The Right Way to Be Introspective by Tasha Eurich, Moreau FYE Week 6). That’s the frame of mind that I’d like to employ within my mission state goal of finding what’s good in life in response to how I feel. My mission statement is dynamic, not static. Unlike institutions, my mission statement is (and will likely always be) a temporospatial consideration. At present moment, the idea of having a permanent view on the order of the world is repulsive. I must always be at least open to changing my personal philosophy. This is not to say that I have a fragile outlook on the world—I don’t. However, it will always be important to me to consider newness. This is the pivotal difference between my mission statement and an institution’s. “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” - William Ernest Henley. Applying this mission statement over the next three years will be difficult. The things I’ve mentioned as being central to who I am are actually better described as things I wish to fulfill. Naturally, that means I have some growing to do. I think it’s a good thing that my mission statement is a combination of things I currently practice and things I aspire to practice. For instance, the aspect of “proceeding with a charge to enjoy life as it is” is a part of my mission statement that I don’t currently embody, but one I wish to develop. Predicting how this tenet will animate my next three years, I would venture to guess that, if I succeed, I will be much less stressed out by the unpredictability of my future career. In fact, if I proceed with a charge to enjoy life as it is, that would mean I would embrace the fact that there are so many unknowns left for me in life. In a https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ very big way, not knowing how my life will pan out is a blessing and can be an exciting thing. The moment that I begin to fully recognize and embrace that will be the moment I truly live to my mission statement. A very real and imminent struggle to living out my mission statement lies in the question of how I will respond to the anxiety I live with. My anxiety shapes so much of my life and almost controls me; in a way, I’m in the passenger seat of my own life. This fact won’t go away in the next three years. Or thirty. I know that, and it’s something that I’ve had to accept with pain. Nevertheless, there must be a real and vibrant way to proceed in spite of my anxiety. Provided that “the World Health Organization has been widely quoted as stating that ‘stress will be the health epidemic of the twenty-first century,’” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer, Moreau FYE Week 1), I can only estimate that my own levels of stress, depression, and anxiety will rise with time. Therefore, the stated “equanimity of mind” should become an equally important component of my mission. One tangible thing that I think will be crucial to achieving this is meditation. The MSCA Symposium Abstract on the Institute for Wellness and Wellbeing notes that “wellbeing…rests on the belief that one is doing well emotionally, socially, and psychologically.” (“MSCA Wellness Abstract” by Ken Kelley, Moreau FYE Week 12), which I believe requires a very grounded and intentional practice such as meditation. The purpose of meditation is not to try and achieve a greater domain over thought and emotion. As my dad put it just a week ago, “the mind is a wild monkey”, which (to continue the metaphor) can only be tamed, not chased away. https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://provost.nd.edu/about/provosts-initiatives/moment-to-see-courage-to-act/msca-symposium/#summaries It would be ignorant to assume that my mission statement will always be the same, however. There are so many life-altering parts of life that I haven’t experienced which I’m sure will change the way I define the mission of my life. However, all I can do now is predict what I think the most important things in my life will be as I grow and continue to try my best to pursue those things. If, after all the years of my life, my mission statement has completely changed but my life path has also changed, I will not be disappointed in my failure to adhere to the April 29th iteration of my mission statement. After all, the only guarantee we can have in life is change, so I should expect to change with life.