Four Pillars

“I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia”, he said, “never really left the South.”

As Dave described it, the furthest north he ever really stayed was for college at my dream school, Duke University, after which he returned home to start his family.

Raising his family with the importance of faith, he always told them that the most important things you can tell people are “I’m sorry”, “thank you”, and “I love you”.

He also told me he had fond memories of playing football with his children, appreciating those little moments of fun.

Having taught 2nd-grade students for many years, he also told me that they had really taught him more than he taught them.

Dave mentioned as well that he’d known his best friends in Atlanta for 50 years, and that they called themselves the “Pawls”.

Cherishing that friendship, he said they were one of the most important aspects of his life in Atlanta. 

Meet Dave

What brings him joy?

Finally, when it came down to it, Dave told me that his source of joy was always really rooted in four key pillars: Faith, Family, Friends, and Football.

Though they may have seemed simple, these were the aspects of his life that brought him the most joy, and I admired that he knew them so certainly.

With our conversation leading up to those four pillars, I could see how he had woven them into various aspects of his life.

I had often thought that joy would have one concrete source, but Dave made me realize that it can come from many directions, which I really appreciated.