The Inspiring Conversations Series featured a discussion about faith and purpose with guest speakers Paul Karos, the former President Investment and Equities at Piper Jaffray, and his wife Cindy Karos, a founding inaugural member for The Order of the Myrrhbearing Women. This virtual event was led by Tom Schreier, Founding Director of the Inspired Leadership Initiative. Through this discussion, Paul and Cindy Karos demonstrated ways in which individuals can deal with grief, life’s ever-changing transitions, the importance of faith, and healthy relationships.
In the beginning of the discussion, Paul spoke of his eye disease’s effect on his life and his relationships. The disease, retinitis pigmentosa, leads to eventual blindness. As a child, in addition to the bullying and rejection he experienced in school, Paul had several underlying fears about his life, such as his ability to attend college. However, there were several blessings that resulted from Paul’s ability to persevere. Cindy explained that, although Paul was a successful man on Wall Street, he is probably one of the most humble people she has ever met. They both recognized the gift—as one sense was lost, the others grew stronger. When his children were having a bad day, he sensed it. When his employee was tentative about a project, he sensed their reluctance. Cindy explained, “Once you get to know Paul, you are blinded by his blindness.”
In the next topic of conversation, Paul and Cindy explained their transitions in life. For Paul, he spoke of his transition from credit analyst to president of investment banking and equities to working on Wall Street to going back to get a theological education and ministry work. Throughout this, Paul realized the importance of cultivating one’s individual gifts and talents that God has gifted them. He explained this through a metaphor: “Every human being has the seed of virtue planted in their garden by God.” These seeds (of kindness, patience, gentleness, and so on) must be cultivated. Paul explained that a human being’s goal is “to have a garden that has enough fruit production to sustain ourselves and have abundance to share with other people.” For Cindy, she explained the struggle of her transition from an international saleswoman to being a mother. In her eyes, becoming a mother constituted giving up all her gifts from God to simply run a family. However, Cindy realized the importance in teaching children to love God—your gifts don’t disappear when you make transitions in your lives, they are always needed!
Paul explained the importance of recognizing that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Instead of only looking for mistakes, there must be an internal recognition that you are precious in God’s eyes, and so is everyone else. Cindy further emphasizes through quoting her mother’s words: “When you’re dealing with someone who is difficult or who is angry or mean, know on the inside that there might be something hurting that person.”
In the next topic of the discussion, Paul and Cindy further expanded on the role of their religion in their own lives. As members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, they placed great importance in the journey to becoming more Christ-like (“askesis”). By doing so, religion became the foundation of their family; they encouraged their children to explore their faith as well as take time to have honest discussions with each other, which greatly helped in maintaining good relationships.
In the Q&A portion of the virtual event, the couple answered a wide range of questions, touching on the importance of coping with anger as well as purposeful leadership. They explained the importance of discovering the real meanings behind the wounds in order to be pure in our own heart so that what is coming out of us is pure. At the end of the discussion, the couple called on listeners everywhere to slow down, as sometimes life moves too quickly to recognize one’s true purpose.
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