I'm pretty wrapped up in helping solve the nation's nuclear waste problem.
It's intractable, political and messy. This presently occupies 75% of my time.

I've been around the block a few times so my job is in three segments.

First, to run interference and help anticipate problems / issues in advance so we don't get bogged down.
Secondly, my job is to work w/ those who may have less (different?) experience in the field and help them get traction and align the various interests.
Third, I do a lot of leading from behind. Sometimes I'm successful, other times not so much.

The bar for progress on the nuclear waste front is very very low. Having said that, progress on the waste front means that the congress continues to appropriate funds to keep the embryonic effort going. And for that to happen there needs to be progress. And for that to happen communities need to feel comfortable volunteering to learn more about hosting a waste facility. And for that to happen there needs to be a trust-building process created and nurtured that allows "stakeholders" to engage, learn, challenge, innovate, risk and decide. The latter is my job.

I've spent a career working hard. I'd now like to be able to find a way to appreciate where I am. It's more than just stopping to smell the roses.

This may seem like a circular statement but I'd like to grow in my ability to make whatever I do or contribute less about me.

I've invested in, and gambled on, myself. My instincts, hunches and assumptions. I've learned to value those.
But it's not a solo effort. Family, friends and colleagues along the way have been invested in as well.

In my field, the "truth" lies in the writings of a bunch of European philosophers (Beck, etc.) but their work for me is pretty much impenetrable and completely impossible to make actionable in the real world. On this side of the pond, Bill Freduenburg did some amazing work on social risk and democracy etc. and I'd love to find a way to make his thinking meaningful.

But that's my chronic dilemma. Seemingly stuck between (bridging) two worlds -- the more theoretical and the messy practical.

Everybody talks about saving the planet. The planet will be fine. We as humans? Not sure. I'm just trying to help create as sense of togetherness.