12/19/2011

December 19, 2011

"Everyone face the wall! Turn off your lights!"
As the last light switched off, Elsa and I were standing in pitch darkness, waist deep in water, shivering, holding hands with strangers.
We began moving, slowly, pulled forward by the hand in front of us, our feet feeling for rocks and obstacles that might trip us up. The water flowed cool on our legs as our voices echoed off the inside of the moist cave walls.
"Carefully, now," called our guide, Francisco, an

archeologist who had been leading trips to this cave for more than 10 years. The name, Actun Tunichil Muknal translated to Cave Stone Sepulcher. It contained the calcified remains of a woman who had died 1300 years earlier, part of a set of skeletons resting in this

cave of the dead. Reaching this spot, nearly two kilometers inside the cave  was the cumulation of several hours of travel, hiking through a rainforest, wading rivers, and swimming through the mouth of a cave.  It was day 2 of our Belize adventure and we were loving it.
This year, much like our cave adventure, felt like we were laying down new ground for ourselves, in search of something to touch our spirits, at the same time walking on a path that has been well worn by others before us. We are moving forward, but we can’t really see where we are going. All we can do is feel our way around the rocks and keep going. Sometimes we slip. Sometimes we bang our shins against a boulder. Occasionally we hit our heads against the ceiling. Always we are trusting that if we keep moving, we will find the enlightened truth that lies ahead.
This past year of 2011 started with the death of Eric’s grandfather and led Eric for the second time in six months to be performing a eulogy in a Montana cemetery. Saying goodbye to those we love brings a mixture of tears and relief, a heartbreaking sorrow and the aching wonder at the mystery of where souls go when they are free. For our family, that entire generation is gone and now we watch the aging of our parents, their struggles with health and purpose. We are all on the way to the back of the cave. As Shakespeare said, “…that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns.”
In the mean time, we set out on some travels that would allow us to return and tell the tales. Eric

ventured to Serbia for 2 weeks to teach young adults about social entrepreneurship, how to start businesses for social change. It was an eagerly anticipated adventure, not beautiful, but rather a stark reminder of the lingering destruction that bad politicians and ethnic hostilities can leave behind. Nevertheless, the young people of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Albania are striving to create a better life for themselves and their fellow citizens and it was an honor to assist them in their

journey. The Roma students with whom we worked were especially inspiring. The systemic poverty and oppression they must overcome just to get an elementary education or avoid wedlock at the age of 11 is staggering. Bravery gets redefined when you hear their stories.
Following that trip, Elsa and I had planned a joint trip to Morocco in March, but with the unrest in Egypt that began in January, spreading to Morocco in February, plus the person we were going to visit there became extremely ill and had to make an emergency flight home…we cancelled the trip and changed our plans. We instead went to Belize in June. And we had a great time…first traveling inland to San Ignacio as a base camp for exploring the Mayan ruins and then spending a second

week on a beach looking out at the Caribbean from our cabana window. It was a much needed reprieve from our respective work schedules.
Beyond those two trips, the rest of the year felt familiar. Elsa’s work with kids, helping them learn to read and understand math. My work with the Sitka Center and its bevy of artists, writers, and musicians. We worked as we always do to make our jobs meaningful, both of us successfully.

In June Elsa conspired with her friend Michaela’s husband Troy to surprise Michaela with a 10 year wedding surprise - renewing their vows on Cannon Beach. The planning took over a year and it culminated with bride and groom, tearfully reaffirming their love for each other in view of Haystack Rock. Awesome!
An additional highlight of the summer included our friends Gregg and Tana temporarily relocating from Michigan to our Lincoln City vacation rental…so we had abundant

opportunities to play. And to work on the database project I’ve been part of since 2005.

Let me detour for a moment into that project, just to celebrate. This project(viewable here) is designed to allowed anyone who cares about job creation to get a picture of what jobs have been created or destroyed in their community over the last 20 years. In many ways it is designed to show that actual job growth comes not from the very large companies and not from startup companies, but from middle sized companies of 5-50 employees. This year the project saw several breakthroughs, as we were recognized by NASDAQ as a partner to help them showcase the jobs created by NASDAQ listed companies, and the President’s Office of Science and Technology also invited us to present at the White House (although I did not attend that meeting).  Our internal driving motivator is that we want Barack to be able to use his iPad to see how jobs are being created in any particular region of the country. Next year, we’ll be creating special tools to let California’s congressional delegation see how jobs are created within each congressional district.  This all sounds exciting, but in actuality it involves a lot of tedious computer programming behind the scenes to make the magic work…. when it works, it’s cool… and when it doesn’t work…root canal anyone?
Elsa traveled to Colorado this summer to see her brother’s family. Margeaux(our niece) was in “Annie” and it was fun to see her perform. In that same trip Elsa also got to see the final softball game of the season as performed by Michaela and Troy’s kids, Izzy and Ike (7 and 5 respectively). Incredible to watch these kids

growing up so quickly! During that same week, Eric traveled to Montana for his youngest cousin’s wedding. The wedding was lovely and memorable...reminding us why outdoor weddings are risky...just as the flower girl was walking down the aisle, a

spectacular thunderstorm unleashed sweeping torrents of hail and rain, sending the guests scattering. Twenty minutes latter, we reconvened and finished the ceremony. By the way,it’s tough to be a pig at a Montana wedding.  Elsa has really fallen in love with yoga this

year. Combined with a no nonsense weight loss regime that she started in 2010, she is in great shape! For her, yoga trumps nearly everything else…it calls her, it speaks her name, it gives her breakfast in the morning.
And now 2012 is coming up and we are excited. We booked our tickets to Maine for spring break, partially to teach social entrepreneurship to some of Maine’s islanders, partially to just visit New England (we know the weather is bleak that time of year…what better time to experience the reality of the place!) And I am starting on my book again…one of these years I’m

going to finish it. Elsa is thinking of going back to school to get some additional business training so she can travel around the world with me to preach the gospel of entrepreneurship in foreign lands. Malaysia, Uganda, Malawi, New York City…here we come.
I personally am hoping that 2012 really shakes things up. Elsa and I are charged and ready to do our parts. Call us and we will get together to start making plans for what comes next. In the mean time, grab the hand of someone you love and keep moving forward through the dark.

Happy 2012.


Love Eric and Elsa

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