Greg w students

Ongoing journey on the path with moments to stop and take notice…

How many of us awaken in the middle of the night with dreams or vague recollections of dreams that we question as “dream” or “reality?” Many dreams are plain weird, some are hardly memorable, some we only remember “small parts” or “acts” within them, some we try and make sense of the message. But every now and then, we dream what could be considered the impossible.

Most of the time we wake up in our own beds, but sometimes we are fortunate to wake up in a foreign land having dreamt about the many ways we want to change the world. More often than not, we just struggle to wake up and make sense of the world we currently live in let alone how our futures will be. These last few months I have been filled with insurmountable wonder. I wonder if I’m still dreaming or if I’m wide awake and living such an amazing, blessed life filled with adventure. For me, the world is changing me more than I am changing the world.

I could not imagine the profound changes I would go through over the course of planning for my East Africa trip in 2011, when I was introduced to a project in the far outreaches of Northern, Uganda operated by Mr. John Alfred Ejura. In modern-day technologically driven fashion, we were introduced via e-mail by a mutual organization, Project PeacePal. After spotty communication and a series of e-mails, I quickly realized that the only way to accomplish anything productive would be to meet with John Alfred in person. Fortunately, John Alfred agreed to take a series of buses from Lira, Uganda to Kampala, Uganda – an 8-9 hour trip, if the buses actually ran on time or showed up at all. He agreed to come and we met briefly on my last day in Uganda. I was immediately struck by his desire to share with me not only his story but also the story of his community, Lira. I quickly found my already amazing trip reach an even more amazing ending… among some of the nicest and most genuine people I had met in East Africa. It was a true privilege to share a Fanta in the home of a Ugandan Parliament member, John Alfred’s brother. Little did I know the impact these short yet unique encounters would have on my life.

Fast forward to almost one year later – My journey with Globosocks, LLC may not be moving at the place we dreamed; however, it is still moving forward nonetheless. I continue to work towards building my foundation so that I can provide grants for improving communities such as that of Lira, Uganda. After much research, I decided Lira would be the very first place in which I would send resources. On January 11, 2012, I met with my friend and colleague from Project PeacePal. After some coffee and catch up I took out the Globosocks checkbook and wrote the first of what I hope will be many checks to help support, and hopefully positively change, communities throughout the world. I spent the last seven years of my career in a role where I provided government funding to communities around New Mexico which enable our communities to improve themselves. My work was extremely rewarding; however, it was not nearly as rewarding as it was for me to take my own checkbook out and write a check for something that I believe in. Yes, it is true that many people make contributions to things they believe in, however, I am intentionally designing Globosocks, LLC as the vehicle to an on-going and deliberate strategy for providing support for building capacity in the developing world. It is almost ironic that the very first project is a “Ugandan Fruit Tree Orchard” in Lira, Uganda. My life the past twelve months has been similar to a garden in that I continue to grow much like fruit in an orchard. Similar to the fruit tree orchard, I hope that as I continue to grow, I grow bountiful so that I may continue to nurture my company and ultimately – nurture the world around me.

The future isn’t a place to go to or visit. Rather, the future is a place we get to create! I am creating my future and I am working to change the world thus making it a better place – even if it is one “small act” in places many of us will never see or visit. The first place is Lira, Uganda. I have no idea what lies ahead, but I am on a journey; with every Globosocks success, I continue on this journey.