"Plot a course to the source of the purest little part of me..." - John Mayer

How I'm realigning by aligning the kids

If we know that midlife is a time of misalignment, when were we most aligned?

I’d say childhood is the earliest time. In fact, I often jog my memory to the pure moments of childhood that hold the clues to my identity.

Or, as John Mayer put it in one of my all-time favorite lyrics:

If my life was more like
1983
I'd plot a course to the source of the purest little part of me

The purest little part of me is the writer I’m reclaiming in midlife.

But she was always there. Ask anyone who knew me in middle school. In fact, when I posted about my new book on Facebook, a few commented as if to say “It’s about time…”

They weren’t surprised. Back then, I was already talking about becoming a writer whose name the world knew.

the purest little part of me - circa fifth grade

Fast forward 30 years, and my job as a parent is to help my kids hold on to the purest little part of them and not let it get buried beneath society’s expectations.

I want them to also know — as I did not — that their talents can be a foundation upon which to build a life. They don’t have to be starving artists. They get to live a life that includes their creative work — and it may even pay the bills if they decide to pursue that path.

But that takes a mindset I’m working to help them cultivate now. I wrote about this journey for Business Insider — my third essay for the site! You may have even found me here on Substack because of that essay, and if so, welcome.

Read the essay — I taught my kids how to be entrepreneurs from a young age. As teens, they've made about $10,000 so far.

If you were to plot a course to the source of the purest little part of you, where would that road go?

Where would it lead?

What do you consider to be the purest little part of you?

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