That One Time When I Thought I’d Run For Mayor...continued...

When it’s quiet and I’ve found myself alone, which is more often than not these days, I ask myself “Have you done enough?”

It’s a very difficult question for me to answer because it has more than one meaning for me. And really, how can you measure your own life as you’re living it?

One reason I ask myself that question is to determine if I have squeezed all of the value from each moment of my life. Have I done all of the things I dream of doing and have I enjoyed them to the fullest?

I also ask myself that question to establish whether or not I have sufficiently been there for those that I care about. Have I given more of myself to them than I have taken from them?

And finally, I ask myself that question because I feel a debt is owed. Have I balanced the ledger of my life? Have I been charitable and compassionate enough to make up for the life I have lived?

It comes to mind because a very dear friend recently asked me why I would run for Mayor if there is almost no chance of winning. He wanted to know why I would waste so much time and energy on a campaign when there are so many other things I could be doing.

My answer was incredibly simple. I told him, “It’s something I feel I need to do.”

My friend knows me well enough, as do many of you, to know that I am not a conventional political candidate. As a matter of fact, I’m probably the antithesis of the ideal political candidate.

I’ve been divorced, twice. I don’t practice religion. I didn’t go to college. I haven’t voted since I was 18 and have purposefully distanced myself from politics. I’m not involved with any community Boards or organizations. I don’t come from a wealthy family with the right connections. And I’ve definitely done things I am ashamed of having done.

So, maybe my friend has a point. Why would I venture into this knowing that when all of the above things are called into question I will likely be left standing still while the more ideal candidates race ahead.

It’s just something I feel I need to do. And I think that everything I just mentioned makes me far more like most of you than any ideal candidate could ever hope to be.

Will I be successful? I don’t know. But the success of the endeavor doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that I try. And if I try, and really give this my best effort, then maybe I can say I have done enough;  no matter which way I’m asking myself that question.