Gathering Pebbles

“When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you.” ~ Lolly Daskal, Leadership Executive Coach

Throughout my journey in life, I have experienced some incredible moments which impacted my life and my way of thinking.  I used to call them “significant emotional events,” but now I refer to them as inukshuks.  Let me explain.

The people of the Canadian Arctic are known as the Inuit. They used to be called Eskimos, which came from a Native American word for 'eater of raw meat.'  Now, the Arctic people are officially known as the Inuit, which means 'the people.’

An inukshuk is a structure the people of the Canadian Arctic make of stones, piled on top of each other with perfect balance.  Among their many practical functions, they use inukshuks as hunting and navigational aids, coordination points, and message centers. Certain inukshuk figures have ethereal connotations, often marking the spiritual landscape individuals might follow to enrich their lives.  There are both large and small inukshuks.  Like a snowflake, every single one is different.

I believe in life legacies. I believe we each have special moments when life confronts us with powerful and meaningful lessons.  Some we embrace, and some we reject.  They are inner revelations; sometimes given to provide us with direction and greater understanding.  Unfortunately, many of us take those moments and lessons to the grave with us.  We fail to share them, to leave markers for others to follow in their journeys.  Over the years, I have gathered many of those moments I call “pebbles” to build my own inukshuks.  Some have been found in stories I have come across.  Some of them have been brought to life by poetry or essays I have read.  Others surfaced through experiences I have encountered or unique individuals I have had the honor of knowing.

Gathering Pebbles will take you on a journey that will include the incredible vision questing of Cyrus Field and his ordination of will to lay the first transatlantic cable amidst the troubled time of the civil war.  Another chapter deals with how a few young men found dignity while working on a garbage route for over three years to raise money to attend college.  One pebble tells how a twelve-year-old boy, dying of leukemia, reflected a sense of selfishness seldom seen in this world today. Many other moments produced incredible examples of how to live an exceptional life took place during conversations with American greats like Warren Buffett, Hall of Fame baseball player, Ozzie Smith, and commander of the Air Force’s Thunderbirds, LT. COL. Ron Mumm.

Chanticleer Book Review stated it this way, “World-class Inspirational Speaker David Okerlund shares his best stories to help you create your own life-path. Fascinating! Powerful life-lessons delivered in a ...