Hello, My Name is...

For my money, The Princess Bride has got to be one of the most quotable movies ever made. Honestly, just throw out the name of the movie and immediately people start quoting phrases and sentences that have stuck with them, and have now become cultural semi-icons.

Probably because so much of my life is immersed in helping people find out who they are and why they are on the planet, one of my very favorites is, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." I know it's sort of a negative identity, but it has kept the man alive for years, honing his fencing skills to a fine point, no pun intended (oh, OK, yes it was). Anyway, at the end of the movie, Inigo has discovered whom he has been hunting all of his life and that man seems about to do Inigo in, too. But at his weakest moment, Inigo whispers, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." And in that moment he becomes a little stronger. So he says it again. Again a little stronger. Finally, he is saying it with such conviction that his father's killer and his attacker becomes unnerved at the ferocity of the claim. In the end, Inigo gets his revenge.

I have to admit, I've been feeling a little lost in life lately. Perhaps it's that I turn 51 this weekend. Perhaps it's that I've taken on other people's fears about things. Perhaps it's that I don't truly believe that I can make a contribution and a living at what I do, both at the same time. But I've been feeling lost.

So I'm reading a wonderful book called "I Know I'm in There Somewhere" by Helene G. Brenner. Dr. Brenner encourages me to listen to and act on my inner voice. She believes I do know what I'm all about if I'll be courageous enough to truly listen and live into the call deep inside. She's seen it happen before. And, even though she doesn't know me, she believes in me.

Yesterday, when I was making coffee, the truth erupted out of me so exuberantly that I said it right out loud because I couldn't help it. "I am a writer." I know that my Divine Assignment is to Stimulate Wisdom, and writing is the best way for me to carry out my mission, as I understand it. It's what I love to do. It's where I lose myself in the process. It holds the moments of my best contributions. I'm scared about the money making in it. But maybe that's my tormentor, my assailant, the being that killed something important to me earlier.

Hello, my name is Robin Chaddock. I am a writer. Prepare to read.