Walking around an area of Boulder today near the University of Colorado campus, I was profoundly struck by the scene unfolding before me. From one street to the next, the variety and abundance of retail stores was taking me by surprise. From “The Downstair Hookah Hut” to the “Outdoor Diva”, the diversity of the commercial scene was quite astonishing. As I continued my journey into this land of unlimited options I begin to recognize to a greater degree what was occurring around me. As I watched the dread head walk out of one shop and a pair daisy dukes walk into another, I suddenly had the realization of where I was, I had entered a land of seekers. I was surrounded by individuals seeking an identity, and using the plethora of options available to them, each was carving out an identity to call their very own.

In many ways I found this to be a profoundly beautiful scene, the forging of an independent identity is a journey that every young adult must navigate. Becoming more aware of the developmental process unfolding before me I felt a growing recognition that the individuals passing by me were not simply fixed objects, but rather dynamic beings finding their way in a changing world.

As this realization begin to sink in, I became acutely aware of the amount of energy and effort being expended by each person in their seeking for identity. The endless terrain of options meant each individual was required to continuously contrast, compare, and evaluate the options being presented to them.

With this realization the necessity of a larger context and purpose for ones life became very clear. Without a clear moral to the story of live, one option melts into the next and true vertical growth can be difficult at best. But when a larger context is recognized, we discover the ever-present “hand that points the way”, and suddenly the journey does not seem quite as daunting and laborious as it once was.