Everywhere you go, there you are...

Happy Autumn, Mr. Bear...

There you are, surrounded now by perky yellow mums, and as if that weren't bad enough, they've exchanged the stars and stripes for a flag with a basket of peaches on it. Apparently you are the central piece in the neighbor's "Homage to the harvest."

When you were a mere sapling, did you ever imagine you'd end up as a painted lawn ornament?

It's an interesting topic. I had this conversation with my nephew recently. How we end up as adults doing something completely different than we originally intended to do when we started out as youngsters. And yet, it fits.

Myself, I went to college, but I studied what was expected of me. It seems I spent a great many years doing what was expected. I held jobs for years and did them well, but without any great passion. And now, I find myself in a job that was dropped into my lap - and I find that it is just... right. I am passionate about my work, it requires all of the creative skills and talents I possess and it is fulfilling. I make a difference.

That matters. It's important to know that what you do makes a difference. That your presence here on this planet will not go unnoticed.

Some people know from the start exactly what they want to be and go about single-mindedly accomplishing it. I tip my hat to them. But some of us take a more circuitous path. We "evolve" into who we are meant to be only after taking several wrong turns.

But then, I think that's why we're put on this earth. It's not where you get that matters... it's how you get there and the lessons you learn along the way.

The journey is more important than the destination.