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Emberterra represents the land of "what" - the space between one place and another. It's the space between who you are and who you want to be, the space between what you do and what you want to do, and the space between who you're around and who you want to be around.
Life truly is a journey. Everything exists in the in-between because life is fluid and always changing. The reality is that we're always in transition. Unless, of course, we're not - and then we're stuck.
Ember: A glowing piece of coal or wood in the final stages of a fire (the dim glow that lights the path).
Terra: Land or ground (the land the journey or passage runs through).
This is where I am in my life. This podcast is my way of figuring out where I'm going and what I want to be doing. Hopefully, as I learn, I can share my insights with others, and it can be helpful in some way.
Thus, Emberterra is the dim glow that lights the path through the land.
I recently sold my business - the second one I've sold in the last few years, after many failed attempts at other businesses throughout my career. It was a successful exit, all things considered, but I'll certainly need to continue to "work." The question is, what does that look like?
I've been working since I was 14. This includes part-time work after school, on weekends, and during summer and holiday breaks. Over the last 15 years, I've had at least two jobs simultaneously, including a main career, fractional work, and getting something off the ground while working full-time and the list goes on. This will be the first time I've had an extended break where I'm not actively working, in school, or training for some sport.
One of the biggest reasons we sold was because I was tired. Not just the kind of tired where you need to take a nap, but the type of tired that lives in your bones. This tiredness goes beyond the physical; it extends into the psychological and emotional.
It's the kind of tired you get from spending so much time and energy doing something you know isn't what you're supposed to be doing with your life. That type of cognitive dissonance is exhausting.
I realize how fortunate I am and couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity in front of me - the opportunity to have time and space. I have time and space to explore things that interest me without the pressure of trying to monetize them. I get to do things because I want to, not because I have to. For that, I'm incredibly fortunate and grateful.
That said, transitions, journeys, passages, voyages, pathways, reflections, and adventures are scary. Letting go of what you know and dropping into the ether or abyss or whatever you want to call it is unnerving at best and terrifying at worst.
So that's what this is about: finding a way to reduce the anxiety of heading into the unknown and providing a dim light on the path through the unrecognizable land. It's not a bright light because there is too much uncertainty to know exactly what to light up. But there is enough light to see the path in front of me, and you, even if we can't see the final destination.