The word “plexus” is defined in medicine as an intertwined network of arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels, and nerves. In a broader sense, it is an interconnection of unlike items, as used in a business or a sports “complex.”

Our lives are a plexus on many levels: occupations, family roles, civic and church responsibilities, hobbies and interest, and so on. Some of the roles and duties we fulfill, we did not choose. We were asked or just happened to end up there. Sometimes we have been coerced. I remember becoming a new physician in a new community and quickly feeling like I was being stretched in four different directions. It seemed that medicine, family, church, and community each wanted 100% of me. I felt like I was being placed on a rack.

Many of us are not good at saying “no.” We were taught to go the second mile. If asked for our coat, we should give our shirt as well. In 1992, Cloud and Townsend published BOUNDARIES. It was life changing for me. Here, two Christian psychologists explained the biblical basis for having boundaries in our lives, i.e. how to say “no.”

The Plexus Principle is the positive corollary to Boundaries, i.e. how to say “yes.” How do we select our roles, our plexus? By chance or by choosing? A very wise pastor’s wife once told me, “Isn’t it amazing that God gives us an interest in areas where He has gifted us.” I had never thought about it that way before.

But isn’t it exciting to think that we should chose, with God’s leading, our roles and responsibilities, hobbies and interests – our plexus. And even more exciting, that these choices can work together for a purpose in our lives. They make us unique. They give meaning to our lives. They make life an adventure, rather than torture. Starting with the example above, of feeling like being stretched on an instrument of torture, the rack, The Plexus Principle states that we should symbolically snip those bonds that tie us to the rack. And we should tie those bonds (ropes) together into a plexus of life choices, plans, and goals, a hammock, that we can rest in comfortably, knowing that we are on the right path.

My current “Plexus” includes writing fiction and crafting pens – “Legacy Words and Wood.”

I have completed six books in my clean-teen fantasy series – The Hemlock Aperture, The Tetra~Chrome Spiral~Skyway, Cryptoflux Calcium Caper, Heart Brain 180, United We Stand Dude, and Perfect Strand. They are available on Amazon and other book sales sites (see the “My Books” page for a link).

My pen crafting has consisted of collecting historic and antique wood, then incorporating it into pens. The result is an object that can be used, collected, or gifted – a legacy that can be passed on to future generations. You can even collect wood that is of significance to you and your family, then contact me about turning that wood into a legacy pen that is uniquely yours. See my “Legacy Pens” page for examples of pens that are already available.