The View from Below

 Stardate: 08.12.2026

Last Friday, I woke up early.

My shift wasn't scheduled to begin for another five hours, but I wanted to witness the grand opening.

Other teammates wanted to be there too. I invited the manager from my hotel, and she showed up and stood alongside me. Adria, the pickleball pro I had invited, arrived just as the ribbon cutting was happening.

Peter and Laura, people I had met only days earlier, walked over from their home across the street to see what was happening.

There was a buzz in the air.

The ribbon was cut.

I was standing outside the building when it happened. The doors were rolled down, so I couldn't see what was happening inside the vestibule. I knew the mayor and senior managers were inside. I knew Tyler was welcoming our first members.

I couldn't see any of it.

Yet I felt like I was witnessing something extraordinary.

I was surrounded by people who had become new friends during my assignment. We had gathered together because we wanted to be there for the moment.

Four days later, yesterday, my wife and I went to the movies.

We watched The Odyssey.

During the movie, I heard a line that stayed with me:

“To have the best view, one must look from below.”

I carried those words out of the theater.

This morning, during Golden Hour, I began to understand why.

My assignment has reminded me of something about leadership.

I'm not a boss.

I don't have a title.

I'm the servant.

I'm called upon to guide the team and develop them. I get to watch people grow. I get to help people find their way. I get to witness what happens when people come together and become a team.

I thrive on this.

I love being the witness.

Standing outside those closed doors last Friday suddenly feels like part of the lesson.

I didn't need to see the ribbon cutting.

I was there.

I was surrounded by teammates and new friends. People who weren't part of my life when I arrived had gathered around me.

That means something to me.

I've spent much of my life trying to build things. Teams. Relationships. Communities. Something good that can continue after I'm gone.

Maybe this is why serving others feels so natural.

When I'm serving and helping others grow, my flower is blooming.

My part in this universe is shining.

And I know where that comes from.

This is the Hand of God.

I can see His fingerprints in the people I've met. I can see them in the friendships that formed so quickly. I can see them in the invitations that were accepted and the people who showed up.

I can see them in a morning when I had no obligation to be there, yet something inside me told me to wake up and go.

There I stood.

Outside.

Below.

Watching a new chapter begin.

And somehow, I had one of the best views.

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”
— Mark 10:43

That verse feels different when you are living it.

I don't need to understand every assignment.

I just need to be faithful to the one I'm given.

Join me here:

https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

Captain's Addendum

Bones: “Michael, you know, most people would have tried to get inside so they could see the ribbon cutting.”

Spock: “Indeed, Doctor. Our Captain appears to have discovered that perspective does not always require physical proximity.”

Bones: “I still think somebody should have opened the doors.”

Sometimes I think God gives us exactly the view we need.

Friday morning, I couldn't see through those doors.

Today, I can see something I couldn't see then.

My flower is blooming.

And I'm grateful to be here for it.