What mark has your father left upon you?

Fathers are powerful creatures, indeed.

The enormous decisions they make and all of the memorable gestures they unleash in life, become towering events to us as children, which in turn, like it or not, inform our entire life.

Intentional.

Unintentional.

In a good way, and then again, sometimes, in a not so good way.

My father was an effervescent soul. He thrived on people responding to those qualities within him. So the more he got back from everyone, the more he put it out there. His voice. His spirit. His heart. Everything. Completely fearless. And then, at the pinnacle of his life and career, he rose in the ranks to become an administrator. The competitiveness of that slippery slope destroyed his authentic qualities. Everyone was out to take him down. Every action, every word, every beat of life became an opportunity for the people around him to diminish his whole being.

So, in his final moments of gallantry as my mentor, he observed my career as I poorly navigated the difficult peaks and valleys of interpersonal relationships. I inherited his most prized commodity – effervescence. Yikes! And so, curiously, in the moments prior to his life arriving at an abrupt and tragic ending, he passed these words on to me: “…keep a simple air of mystery…” Advice? Warning? Challenge? Directions? What? Or, simply, a mark.