In a conversation about aging, a wise woman I know quoted her mother, “The good old days were only good because I was young.”
Nostalgia can be poisonous, especially when looking back to “simpler” times means celebrating the days when white, straight, and patriarchal culture went largely uncontested.
And yet… looking back and seeking the gold hidden in the past can offer its own restorative magic. We can learn from our own history, just as we can learn from ancient mythologies and folklore. There were good days, and not just because we were free of all the adult responsibilities, had resilient joints, and an even more resilience in the face of a hangover.
Lately, some exciting future plans have me looking over my own 20 year-old shoulder.
I am remembering what it felt like to spend hours of every day pouring over poetry and mythology, literature and history. I am tucking my 40-something self into that iconic Junior Year Abroad backpack and accompanying that younger version of me as she takes on that first year in Ireland. I am revisiting the years when I knew how to dance like no one was watching and could love like I’d never been hurt.
While I don’t have the luxury of reading all day and I don’t have a plane ticket in hand (yet), I am steeped in the energy and possibility of those days and realizing that it is possible to go home again, in a way.
Have You Met Your Young Genius?
This year, I have the good fortune of working closely with author, branding consultant, and all around brilliant soul, Jeffrey Davis. His approach to entrepreneurship and maintaining creative focus is helping me establish the straight lines that will hold my spirals of creativity.
Jeffrey’s new book, Tracking Wonder: Reclaiming a Life of Meaning and Possibility in a World Obsessed with Productivity comes out next week. In it, he talks a lot about his concept of the “Young Genius.”
“Genius is that force of character that wakes your up to your best character and work in the world--if you awaken to it.” - JD
Jeffrey invites us to look to our younger selves, when we were 6 or 7, or maybe a little older, and seek out the instances when we felt free and shone with our own unique, best light. Seeking the qualities that lit up that child can unlock our innovation, creativity, and unfettered energy right now. (And the research backs this up!)
My elementary school self was a reader and a writer who adored imaginary worlds, especially those conjured in brand new book fair purchases! That little redhead (who was really quite loud when she didn’t have her head buried in a novel) had a fiery love of language. She had her own elemental magic, but I find the Young Genius that truly inspires me emerged more than a decade later...
I am most drawn to the genius of the American college kid on the Aer Lingus flight, the no-longer-a-child who spent so many hours in university libraries, pouring over the footnotes to find the next book before she had even devoured the one she was reading. I want to walk beside that not-quite-an-adult who would close the books and take the first country lane out of Galway and walk until she worried the sun might set and leave her alone in the dark with the sheep.
She combined fearless moxie and bookish devotion in a way that I still admire.
There’s a long story of how I lost track of that energy, but that is a story for another day (and one that I tell in The Sovereignty Knot, to some degree).
I wonder what your Young Genius traits are and what age you feel most connected to… Do check out the Tracking Wonder book as I know it will be an essential guide for all of us who want to bring more meaning and magic to our lives and to our work.
Announcing one of the KnotWork Podcast’s first guests!
It feels like no coincidence that this exploration of my Young Genius comes when I am actively courting that adventurous, intellectual spark that bursts forth when I indulge my passion for Celtic wisdom and Irish stories.
As you may have heard, the KnotWork Podcast debuts on 2/2/22. It’s a significant day because it’s the second birthday of The Sovereignty Knot and, even more importantly, it is Imbolc, the ancient festival celebrating the goddess Brigid and Saint Brigit’s Day.
Brigid, in all of her guises across the pagan and the Christian centuries, has been my guide since my early teens when I took her name at confirmation. She has been a quiet presence throughout my life, and I have to believe she saved my Young Genius from herself more times than I might care to admit!
Yes, the “good old days” are continuing to seed the wonder of the present moment.
Kate Chadbourne, who was my first Irish language professor at Boston College, will be amongst the first guests on KnotWork. Kate is a deeply talented storyteller and musician, as well a writer and scholar of Celtic studies. A wise and compassionate editor, she helped make The Sovereignty Knot into the book it is. She’ll be coming to share some of her favorite Brigit stories in celebration of Imbolc.
Want a taste of Kate’s magic now? I highly recommend you check out her brand new ebook/audio performance offering, A November Visit: Poems, Stories, Company.
Up in the northern hemisphere, these are the dark times. This November stretch between the mystery of Samhain (Halloween) and the return of the light at the Winter Solstice can feel leaden and bleak. I promise that a dose of wonder and a visit with Kate’s tales will be just the medicine you need to get through. (And then, when we're all truly sick of winter and so ready to welcome the spring, KnotWork will be here!)