How do you know what you are doing with your life is the right thing? Is it just me, or is everything in the world—every action, every condition and every result—under the proverbial microscope? Has my cavalier, easy-to-negotiate youth simply abandoned me, or has life really become ridiculously challenging?

We now have both feet firmly planted in the new decade.  2010: The economic conditions are a multiple choice quagmire of everything from “possibly improving” to “improving slower than expected”—that is, if you are asking the optimists. I will not mention what the pessimists are saying. An informal poll of my peers suggests that 20 percent or more are unemployed or severely underemployed. My wonderful co-workers and I meet every week and discuss new ideas for editorial content, engaging concepts centered on professional, personal, community and global sustainability. There seems to be no end to the possibilities of providing fresh and relevant content to our audience. Then, I toddle back to my desk and stare at spreadsheets. I wring my hands. I pace. I tally up how much it is going to cost us to publish another issue of Mindful Metropolis, plug in production, editorial, printing, distribution and sales figures. Usually my heart is either stuck in my throat or fluttering in my gut. I have discovered my primary role in our organization is that of bookkeeper and chief worrier. I am the publisher of a free, local print publication with an equally free web media extension. I wake up in the morning and read what I have written on my mirror. “Goal: Provide resources for a better way to be in the world and a more fulfilling way to live in the community.” And, provide those resources free to over 100,000 readers each month in a way that is mutually sustainable.

The two most valuable things I have are hope and relationships. In fact, those are riches that no economic hurdles, no crazy business plans, nothing with a dollar sign or decimal point can ever replace. Until the door slammed shut on my last job, I would have argued the concept of unconditional love was nebulous at best. Then, I traded the assurance of a regular paycheck for trust in my coworkers, my fellow team of entrepreneurs and the handful of people who are willing to take the daily risk with me. Now, I look around and see love unconditionally for and from them. We build each other up on a daily basis. We are okay with our mutual imperfections. We are in the stream of life together, whether or not we consider it choice or circumstance. We share an energetic bond that is undeniable.

This is how I know what I am doing with my life is the right thing. I have to be okay with knowing it for reasons that will not appear on our fiscal balance sheet. My internal balance sheet will have to suffice.

PS: Every couple of months, we produce a “live magazine” called MindfuLive! We open the event with a small show of sponsors—advertisers who want to add another dimension to their community relationship. We serve some food, and then present some content, most often a film of relevance to our mission. We wrap up the evening with a brief presentation from leaders on the topic at hand and a short Q&A. Limited seating tickets for MindfuLive! are cheap. We have a show on February 4th, followed by another show tentatively scheduled for April 8th. This is a way our readers can support us. The most important thing you can do, though, is look at the ads in Mindful Metropolis, patronize these businesses, and let them know where you found out about them. We need their support to bring you the medium we offer. Even if you don’t patronize them, call or email them and tell them you saw their ad. Thank you!