We are moving from a Varied Life to an Exciting Life. They sound similar, but I think there is a crucial difference.

If a Varied Life is external (the things that happen to us, often without our consent), an Exciting Life happens within.

For me, excitement is fuel. It’s a rocket booster. I crave it. I can’t always control the variability of my life. As I wrote in the last post, lived experiences often just collide with us. But I can plan for stimulating experiences. And more importantly, I can cultivate excitement within myself to change the way I approach that variability.

When I look at this card, I think of the things I’ve chosen to do. I’ve traveled to Europe. I’ve traveled to Asia and Africa. I’ve never been to Antarctica, or south of Mexico. One day. One day.

But the real excitement isn’t on a map.

I chose my partner. And she chose me. And that has been overarchingly exciting. We have lived a life of constant change and adjustment, and through it all, we have not left one another behind. We have not grown tired of one another. We have kept up.

I am (cheese-alert) more in love with her today than I was last year. Or the day we got married.

We have done everything by one another’s side. For years we’ve worked together on our business. We’ve discovered new layers of each other. We’ve witnessed success and failure in one another. We have lived out our vows—the “better” and the “worse”—and I find that really exciting. I daydream about what the future might look like with her, and I get a spark.

And I think about the children we’re raising. We chose to have kids; it was all in the master plan. Certainly, we didn’t plan for every twist and turn. But we knew from the jump that we wanted to be parents.

I think about how wonderful and whole they each are. So different from one another, so different from us, and yet distinctly US.

I find them exceptionally exciting. We hear the reports. First it was, “Your kids are my favorite to babysit.” Then it was, “Your kids are my favorite in class.” People long for the affection of my children, and it’s not just because they’re special (though they are). It’s because they are whole creatures unto themselves, and adventure seems to follow them. They are attractive in a world of media consumption and intrinsic self-service because they are present.

I suppose my wife and I have something to do with that. We’ve been responsible for setting the tone and culture of our family. But increasingly, that tone is being shared around our common table. We’re all setting the tone now. And that is very exciting.

I will be a dad to them for many years as adults. But precious are these days of mundane excitement.

I’ve already talked about Daring, which feels connected to this card. I have done daring things. I have learned new definitions of daring. But “Excitement” is the internal result of that daring.

It has been exciting to live a life open-handed and open-hearted. I value an exciting life. And looking at my family, I feel so grateful to have one.

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