My friend asked me a very thought-provoking question that struck a cord with me at the time and has since continued to permeate in my thoughts. A very casual lunch that started off with whimsical updates turned into a deeper discussion of careers, love and life, which led to the very stimulating question of "If God never gave you another thing, could you be grateful?" and you know me . . . I had to answer the question with an essay type answer and her response was, "it's a yes or no answer" and I said "yes, but" and the "but" part of my answer was not sufficient for her. She really challenged me to answer "yes" or "no", which perplexed me even more and started tugging at me for the course of the next week. Why, you may ask? Well for one, I consider my self to be a grateful person and conscious of my blessings. However, I just can't escape the "but" part of my answer, because I'm just not done growing, achieving, attaining (at least in my eyes anyway).
I still have lots of goals to accomplish and new heights to reach. I have a vision for my life and I haven't fully reached that vision yet so for me, it's hard to say "YES" to a question that seems to stunt my future. My goal is to get to a point where I can say "YES" with confidence and conviction and know that I am wholeheartedly content with everything I've already been blessed with and if I was never given another thing, my heart could sing with peace and gratefulness. Since our lunch, my thoughts and prayers have been a bit more open-ended, thinking more about contentment rather than always praying for the next thing that I desire. Oh, my friend also wanted to make it clear that her question was not to advocate for stagnation, but instead challenge me to get to a place in life where gratefulness outweighs any prayer or requests that I may have. If I was never given another thing, could I be grateful? I'll confess that my answer is still a bit shaky and I am striving for that strong "YES". I am confident that I will get there (my hope is sooner than later). So, now, I am passing along my challenge to you. If you were never given another thing, could you be grateful?
P.S. Don't worry about saying a confident "YES" out loud, because your verbal answer is not what matters. It's what your heart says that really counts.
At ALM, Kim is responsible for producing six national networking conferences across the country tailored to the real estate industry. She is responsible for content development, speaker selection and event marketing. She has secured a diverse range of speakers from the Chief Economist of the FDIC to Washington, D.C. Former Mayor Adrian Fenty. Kim started her career at
Nkechi Hooper is a 2012 NYWICI Foundation Scholarship recipient, specifically the IPG Sponsored Scholarship and Internship. Through her NYWICI connections, she was afforded the opportunity to spend this past summer as an intern at Draftfcb with the search marketing team. She is currently working as a Junior Digital Analyst for Code and Theory, a small independent interactive agency where she implements social media and web analytics for the Dr Pepper Snapple Group client.
Mariama is currently a United Nations fellow managing high-level programming activities centered on advancing the Millennium Development Goals in Africa with a focus on UNAIDS youth-led policy project. During her spare time Mariama has volunteered for international organizations dedicated to solving the world's biggest problems that include Clinton Global Initiative and Women Deliver and is an active member of the programming committee for NYWICI.
Taylor Trudon is an associate blog editor at The Huffington Post. She studied journalism and women's studies at the University of Connecticut, where she completed internships at
