And So We Rise

I awoke this morning with a fire in my belly. A thought which cannot be quashed, and a believe which cannot be broken:

Find Yourself in the Service of Others

It’s nothing new. I’ve been hearing a statement similar to this my entire life. But what is new is our interpretation of it. What is new is how we, as a collective, are going to present it. The way I was brought up, service meant cleaning someone’s yard, volunteering at a facility, hell, I even poorly painted the halls of a youth facility once. Work. Things which we normally wouldn’t want to do. Aspects of giving that we perhaps shy away from due to lack of time, abilities, or even desire.

 But let’s consider this: we have the choice to be in a constant act of service to others. All we have to do, is be kind.  If we were put on this earth to only care for ourselves, we would be the only ones living in it.

SAGE is an active place. I fully intend for SAGE to challenge you. I also intend for you to feel like you are a part of something. I want you to feel like you are growing, advancing, and tackling some of those most angry things about life that we may normally steer away from. Why is all this possible? Because we are in “this” together.

When you join SAGE, you are instantly in the service to others. You are a listening ear, you are a viewpoint, you are an encourager, and you’re a support. To me, that’s 100x more valuable than your role as a creative. You are a part of SAGE because I believe in YOU, not just your product.  And your product is a representation of you, so it all comes back full circle to only be a benefit to us all.

We rise by lifting others. You already know its one of my favorite phrases; it’s pretty obvious. But what you might not see in the day to day operations of what we are doing today and planning for tomorrow, is that you are in my thoughts every step of the way. This is not what will work for me, this is what will work for US. Please don’t take this lightly; you are a part of something big. You are a part of something that has the ability to move mountains because you already had that ability inside you. We simply needed to come together and amplify.

There is a challenge abounding for all of us on a daily basis. One in which we should be constantly questioning if our actions truly reflect who we are. I fully recognize it is so much harder to take a stand, so much harder to stand vulnerable in front of even the smallest crowd and say, “This is how I feel.” But there is no path to our complete self that doesn’t involve the obstacles of confrontation. And how upliftingly beautiful to visualize a team of support during each step of the journey, for this is SAGE. We teach each other empathy, we teach each other camaraderie, and we teach each other to be open to a different viewpoint. We grow. It is my own personal dedication as SAGE to foster an environment where your actual self is not only emphasized, but it shines. As a group, we are only as bright as the people that stand beside us.

My hope is that these words create their own fire inside you. My hope is that these words inspire you to take action. My hope is that, in the same ways we have over the last year, we continue to revel in the growth that can be seen in each and everyone on of us. We are in this TOGETHER, and as such, you are there for me just as much as I hope to be for you.