Thank you for reading The Quest. If you enjoy my essays on the quest for the life we are intended to live, please consider supporting my publication by subscribing and sharing it. Thank you!
The truth yet to be understood by the masses is that one of the greatest gifts we can offer our world is to discover those things we truly love, which make us come alive inside and do it as an act of blessing to one another!
A sense of foreboding dread came over her. Although she tried to push it away, she felt a growing sense that they had made a terrible mistake.
The Adirondack Mountains are a place of stunning beauty. Anyone who has hiked its summits is well aware of the rugged terrain. It is a place where crystal clear waters of mountain streams and rivers, hundreds of ponds and lakes, deep forests, wild blueberries, massive granite rocks, mosses, and wildlife blend into a rare, untouched expression of nature. Many people come to these mountains to explore and drink in this extraordinary place's beauty and rugged solitude. Hamlets and villages are scattered through its landscape, where rugged people have carved out a living and call it home!
Although the Adirondacks are undoubtedly a beautiful place to live, the stark harshness of the beauty can lend itself to isolation and loneliness. Although friendly people, come Winter, the locals often retreat to the warmth of their homes at the end of the day rather than venture out into the winter’s chill. This is the perfect recipe to stir that universal ache that lives within every human heart!
This was the amazing place she and her husband had moved to. Now, in late December, just before Christmas, she was struggling! She feared moving here was a big mistake. As she attempted to process all of this, she heard of a local restaurant having a Christmas dinner. She thought that would be nice, so she called and made a reservation.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they were welcomed by a lodge glowing with light. On the deck sat a Christmas tree decked with white lights. The deck's railing was laden with a thick pine garland mixed with berries, pinecones, ribbons, and lights. Christmas music wafted on the cold winters’ air as they stepped from their car. The aromas of roasted turkey, ham, veggies, mashed potatoes, coffee, and fresh pumpkin pie met them as they opened the door.
Once inside the warm walls, the glow of Christmas lights reflected off of the 300+ magical Christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling. A Christmas tree in the window shown forth its radiant light, spreading a sense of peace. Icicle lights in the windows reminded one that even ice could be warm.
Taking a deep breath and inhaling all of the wondrousness, they found their way to a corner table. It was there in that corner of a simple place called the Monday Tuesday Grill that the magic happened. As she sat there, with Christmas music playing, she felt a peace settle over her. Looking around, she heard the words within her soul, “I can create a life here.”
What changed? What caused the weight of the fear of isolation and loneliness to dispel? Was it just The Magic of Christmas? Was it the sensations of the combination of light, warmth, aroma, and good food that just stirred a sense of hope in her, or was there something more?
“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman.
Many years ago, the owners of the Monday Tuesday Grill came face-to-face with Howard Thurman's powerful words! The world is full of needs, without question. But the paradox is that when we attempt to simply solve the world’s needs, we ourselves often become more needy. As with so many things in life, the solution is a byproduct of something else.
Long ago, the owners learned the hard way that caring for the needs of others without knowing how to become alive leads to an empty, lonely place. It’s a long story, but the Monday Tuesday Grill resulted from learning to live according to these three fundamental principles.
One: Our dream is the problem we solve by doing something we love.
Two: To live a life in which we are truly alive, we must get in touch with that which we genuinely love. Becoming fully alive is really about embracing love.
Three: Doing the things we love to solve problems in our world is one of the most powerful gifts we possess to bless humanity!
You see, the Monday Tuesday Grill was formed out of two things. One, there indeed was a need for a restaurant in this Adirondack mountain Valley that is open on Mondays and Tuesdays! But the means of solving that problem came straight from the owners' hearts. Their love of cooking good food, gathering people together, and serving them was the basis of their choice. If you knew their story, you would know that almost every aspect of that little place results from something they love. From the 300+ ornaments hanging on the ceiling to the twinkling lights on the garland to the snow-draped Christmas tree on the deck, the lights, music… It all results from answering the call to build a life embracing a dream filled with the things they love.
Although they were well aware of the challenges of living in these beautiful mountains. Although aware that the beauty of Winter can also create isolation and loneliness. Although aware of the need for people to connect with others. They did not set out to solve those things. They simply offered the gift of their hearts' desire to solve the problem of hunger for guests and locals on Mondays and Tuesdays by doing what they loved! Love took care of the rest!
The truth yet to be understood by the masses is that one of the greatest gifts we can offer our world is to discover those things we truly love, which make us come alive inside and do it as an act of blessing to one another!
The reason your dream is so important is not really about you. Yes, living your dream will bless you. But dreams are so essential because they are the starting place of learning how to recognize and embrace a posture of love. It might seem simple, elementary, and even a bit selfish compared to the depths of love to focus on doing things that make you feel alive inside. But it turns out it’s the Divine’s way of ensuring that as long as we live, we are never separate from the one thing that really matters: love!
The only thing that can save humanity from the destructive ways we treat one another is love. That which humanity needs to reach its destiny lives within the collective of our hearts. Therefore, learning to create a life built on embracing the things we love and that make us feel alive is our greatest superpower for awakening our true nature and helping humanity reach its destiny. It is the gateway to a whole new way of living.
The owners of this special little place are just ordinary people like you who heard the call of love and answered. I know this because my wife Amy and I are the owners. Click here to read my wife’s version of how the Monday-Tuesday Grill came to be! This is why I believe the most impactful thing I can do with my life is to spend it daring people to dream.
This past week, a woman walked into our little restaurant with her brother. She informed us that he had just landed at Albany Airport, and this was the first place she brought him. The reason? The Monday Tuesday Grill is where she encountered the love on that lonely Christmas day that empowered her to believe she could create a life she loved in these mountains. Now she wanted to share it with him!
Humanity is a wonderful treasure that finds its origin in the expression of Divine love. We are at a critical point in the ascending journey in which we will either learn how to truly love one another or become extinct. This is why with all my heart I dare you to dream. Ask what makes you come alive inside and go do it! Because the world desperately needs people who are truly alive in the power of love.
Love and Blessings, Wayne
Read my wife’s story of how the Monday Tuesday Grill came to be!
Thank you for this inspiring and encouraging story. It comes as a Divine reminder for me to not abandon my dreams. Thank you for following your dreams with the intention to show love and bless others.
Now that is a grill I would love to visit one day. Thanks Wayne...Took me a long time to find what I truly loved to do. The importance of doing so cannot be overstated. Thanks for being someone (someones with your wife too) who did it and brought more joy to world so in need of it. Blessings to you too.