Marc Prestera MDI Contributor
Even with all that has happened in the past year with my “One MDI” organization, I continue to bask in gratitude of the legacy and life of Mentor Discover Inspire.
“Thank you Dad” – that phrase has always meant more than I could have ever imagined post my Men’s Weekend in 2004. Having lost my father this last year, this phrase gave me pause to reflect on this more than ever.
It is the constant changes in life that actually make life. And as the French would say “plus les choses changent, plus elles restent les memes” – the more things change, the more they stay the same. This has been true for me in the passing of my father, the passing of time, and the passing and changing of MDI for me over the last 15-plus years.
The year 2019 has been a year of change for MDI: culturally, stylistically, physically … and yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The true essence of who we are as an organization is alive and well. Changes and all!
So with that in mind, and in the spirit of gratitude and the season:
Thank you MDI for being a constant in my life, and the life of family – a place where I witness the impact of the journey I’ve/we’ve walked, not only in my marriage, but also in my relationships with my son and granddaughter.
Thank you for the lessons that are a constant compass in all aspects of my life (personally and professionally). Lessons that are applicable inside and outside of the circle.
Thank you for creating the space for me to discover what it means to be personally responsible to my word and for my actions … that dog-gone accountability thing!
Thank you for the opportunity to lead and discover the lessons around what I’m actually capable of, where my breaking points lie, and mostly the mental and personal toughness and honesty to own those places within my life.
Thank you for the lesson of truth – giving and receiving truth. As many of us have experienced in both ends of this one … it’s not always easy to stand in that space … and yet one of the most cathartic experiences of ownership and freedom.
Thank you for the FUN … some laughs and smiles I’ve experienced in the circle with my men are seared into my spirit, soul, and the laugh wrinkles on my aging and weathered face.
Thank you, mostly, for the gifts of the relationships established from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Men of honor, Men of trust, Men of care, Men that care for me, Men that seek to make a difference not only in their circles, their Divisions, their Regions, and the International aspect of MDI … but really … the world and all humanity (mentioned in both our Vision and our Code).
Thank you … since when it all comes down to it … each of us, collectively and individually, are MDI.
Thank you for those never ending gifts, lessons and laughs.
Respectfully and in gratitude, may 2020 hold gifts beyond our wildest imaginations and see the Vision, Mission and Code of Honor of Mentor Discover Inspire continue to be our rallying call! HO!