Towers

Dear Isaac and Maia – I am writing this post from my conference in Atlanta, GA. My hotel is in the heart of downtown and I am on the 27th floor. It is an amazing place, really – it looks like a gold rib cage with a spine when you look from the lobby through the skylight. The elevators are glass and move pretty fast up and down the 50 floors – they look like a spine on the rib cage. It is a little creepy if you don’t like heights.

It made me think of Hovenweep just last week and those towers built by the Ancient Pueblo Indians. Why do people build towers? Well, we don’t know for sure about Hovenweep, but they think either for visibility or defense. As the drought came, perhaps resources were scarce enough that the culture became more warlike. For Atlanta, I think it is to be more vertical. Many large cities have very tall buildings in their heart. I think it is also to show and attract wealth in the case of cities.

My room has one wall that is all window. It actually is kind of creepy at night – I feel like a ledge walker. I am sure people stay here because of the ability to see the whole city.

I needed this conference to re-energize me about work. Part of me wants to retire and another one wants to keep using my strengths for my community related to nursing.

I have always preferred nature to cities and dirt roads to interstate highways. And, yet, I am a change agent. I bring in new ideas to move organizations forward. It is not easy, but I am usually successful. In order to get new ideas, I attend national or other high-level conferences. I love to network and learn what others are doing. I love learning.

What do dirt roads and being a change agent have in common? I guess both require a pioneer spirit. Pioneering land or new ideas . . . it is kind of the same thing.

Last week, I was camped on the ground with some ancient petroglyphs in the stone. Tonight, I am in a fancy hotel room on the 27th floor of a big tower hotel learning new things. Cultures that build towers are interesting to ponder. I must confess that I am ready for life to slow down a little!