Today has been a day filled with many emotions: joy, tears, remembrance, gratitude and confirmation. It started when a friend from very long ago reached out and typed a simple message of ‘hello’. The circumstances of how and why our friendship came to a halt were because of a personal life-changing decision I had to make for myself. That was over thirteen years ago and we have not spoken since.
After receiving and reading this note I had to dry my tears to answer the telephone. The ringing quickly brought me back from the past into the present. Not recognizing the number I simply said ‘hello’. The second the caller spoke it was impossible not to share my joy upon hearing from another dear friend. You would never know that a year had wedged its way between us since we last spoke because the conversation flowed so easily.
Can the absence of communication destroy the strong bond between friends? I have often wondered about that until today. I always hoped that because of distance and silence my true friends would not think their friendship meant nothing to me. Today, two of those friends, who matter to me, told me with a simple ‘hello’ that I matter to them too!
I never thought that I would have learned a life lesson by watching a football game. Of course, the game I’m referring to was yesterday’s Superbowl. I was thoroughly entertained watching the nail-biter game but my lesson came from what I heard hours earlier in the day as opposed to what I witnessed.
As I multi-tasked around the house cleaning and preparing the food we would eat during the game (because we all know how important food and snacks are for any sporting event) the TV was on. I listened to a lot of pre-game interviews and commentaries from sports analysts predicting who they thought would walk away as the world champions. I could not help notice how much focus was placed on the two men who would dictate how the game would unfold – the quarterbacks.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t football a team sport? We need our leaders but what about the other team members who have their jobs to do in order to secure a victory? Why do we constantly put so much pressure on one member of the team when we are supposed to be a united front all wanting the same outcome – success?
Global economists say that 2012 is going to be another rough year but it looks as though we are halfway through the hard times. It’s kind of like the world is sitting in the locker room and looking at the score at the end of the half. If we want to hoist the trophy up over our heads when the final whistle blows, we know that we will have to give it our all in the last half of the game. Pointing the finger at the quarterback to get us out of a difficult situation doesn’t work if the entire team is not willing to give 100%.
If we want to have a winning outcome it’s time that we all get suited up, roll up our sleeves and do our jobs to make it happen. Let’s not forget that we are in this game together!
Have you ever noticed that there are people around you who always seem to be naturally happy? It doesn’t matter the time of day, the season or what is going on around the world. They seem to be able to shield themselves from it all to remain in their ‘happy’ state. What I find fascinating about happiness is when you ask people to try to define it for themselves. It becomes very clear to me that the ‘happy-go-lucky’ people share one thing in common that the rest struggle with.
Whether it came from our parents, friends, society or the media, it seems like we have been conditioned to think that there is a connection with money to happiness. The more we have and acquire will be the solution to living a happier life. I know that you know that is simply not true. Some of the unhappiest people come from wealth; whereas, some of the happiest people come from nothing.
I have traveled to impoverished places in the world and when I looked into the eyes of the local residents who had so little, I remember feeling they had something very precious that so many of us were searching for. They held the key to happiness. It was contentment. Being content with what you have as opposed to what you don’t gives you peace of mind.
Is it so bad to want for little? I know that goes against so many theories and beliefs about saying we should want and deserve to have it all. I believe we can have it all, but not until we are truly happy with what we already possess. Happiness has nothing to do with what is happening on the outside. It has everything to do with what is going on in the inside.
Every once in a while something will grab my attention that makes me want to jump up and say, “Right on!” My friend, Paula posted something on Facebook that did just that.
Meet Boomer model, Cindy Joseph who started her modelling career at….get this…59! She is beautiful, confident and secure about who she is and what she wants out of life. Honestly, this story is so refreshing and uplifting I could not help being inspired and felt the need to write about it.
Not everyone has been blessed with Cindy’s genes to become a model but so what. What’s stopping any of us from doing whatever it is that makes us happy NOW? Fear, laziness, doubt or people telling us that our dreams are ridiculous?
I am loving and rejoicing where I am in life right now. You could not pay me enough to go back to my 20’s or even to my 30’s. Why would I want to go back to a time where I struggled with insecurity, doubts, fears, jealousy and envy? Do I have any interest in climbing the corporate ladder? Not really. I am enjoying calling the shots and having the creative freedom to do what my heart is telling me to do.
Do I have it all? Not yet, but I know this. I am definitely on my way.
Perhaps it’s an evolution thing, a growing thing, a living thing or the dreaded aging thing. I don’t know what it is but I just have to get it out. We were told so many wrong things when we were children no wonder why we spend most of our adult life trying to re-wire our brains.
Think about some of these things we were told when we were younger:
Never talk to strangers. Okay, that is a good one but it should have been told to us like this. Never talk to strangers until you are older, a better judge of character or you can easily defend yourself. Look, our best friends were strangers to us at one time, were they not? Let’s not forget about the explosion and popularity of social media. Billions of strangers are talking to each other every single day…and some of those strangers are becoming life-long friends.
If you tell me the truth you won’t get in trouble. Well, I think we all fell for that one. I’m only speaking for myself, but this one taught me how to become a pretty good liar very early in life. This one was a big one to re-learn. Truth. How much truth do we share with the ones we love? I will tell you how much. 100%. I would rather be disliked for always telling the truth than to be liked or even worse, loved for telling someone lies just to make them feel good.
Stop day dreaming! This came from our parents and even worse, our teachers. Do you believe it? This one is SO wrong. The majority of dreaming SHOULD BE done during the day. I mean really, do you remember all of your dreams when you wake up? I don’t and quite frankly, the ones I do remember are all messed up anyway. As adults, we should be taking some daily dream time to imagine and envision what possibilities are out there that we perhaps need to explore. Yes, day dreaming is highly recommended for everyone.
They say we can never go back in time. I guess that’s a good thing; however, I believe that we can re-experience the past with a much more mature and different approach. It all comes down to choice.
I must confess that I was never a scholar when it came to school. I did just enough to get by when it came to my studies and lessons. There was no denying what kept me motivated and attracted to school. Socializing and sports! When I enrolled in college and received my first set of marks, I wished that I put more emphasis in studying rather than trying to make the volleyball team. College opened my eyes and I quickly realized that in order to get my diploma I would actually have to open up a book, learn the material and get to work. Over the years, I often think that had I only applied myself and taken more interest in my education, my life would have turned out very differently. Oh well, live and learn! (Seriously, no pun intended!!)
Fast forward…27 years later…that brings us to today.
Tomorrow, I am back in class for my Module 2 training. I am so eager to return and discover just how much more I don’t know and need to learn. I know…crazy as that may sound, it’s true. This training is VERY important to me. I will not repeat the mistakes I made in my younger days. I am totally focused on learning and absorbing as much as I can. I feel like I have gone back in time to when I was a toddler. Experts say that a child’s most formative years are from infancy to 6 years old. That might explain the metaphoric dream I had last night. All my classmates were in attendance. I know that I was there; however, physically I could not be seen. My eyes slowly and carefully scanned the room for any sign of ‘me’ to appear. I looked and searched…and then I noticed my purse sitting by an empty chair. The chair, in fact, was not empty. Sitting among my peers was a sponge with ears soaking it all in.
When I made the decision a few weeks ago to go back to school I was giddy like a little school girl (pardon the pun). Tomorrow is the first day of college and now I am a bit nervous. Why? Well, I just did the math and I have not been in a classroom setting for 27 years. Is it the number of years away from school that has me feeling timid or is it the fear of the unknown?
I think it may be a bit of both but there is something underlining that calms me down and assures me that my decision was a good one. I have FINALLY figured out what I want to do with the remainder of my working years. My commitment in wanting to guide others to live the life of their dreams is undeniably my life’s passion. So, it took almost 50 years for me to figure it out but who cares. The point here is that it is never too late to evaluate where you are at in your life and decide that it is perfectly okay to go in another direction. Reinventing ourselves is within our personal right to do so.
They say that the 40′s are the new 30′s; so I’m guessing that the 50′s are the new and improved 40′s. All I know and I am strictly talking from my own personal experience is that I would never go back to any other age than where I am at today. If I am the oldest person in class, then so be it because I know I have every right to chose where and what I want from life. I would almost venture to guess that this 50 year-old will be passing with flying colours. Why? Because I am telling myself I will, and that too, is within my rights.
I was asked to submit a 500-word article to an on-line inspirational website. This site’s content is solely intended for contributors to share their summary of the best life lessons they have learned. This was a very interesting and challenging request. Interesting because you had to be brief and yet, get your message across. Challenging because you had to be brief and yet, get your message across. All contributors were asked to answer the following question:
If you were asked to write your final words to leave to humanity, sharing the most important things you’ve learned in life, what would you say?
Talk about a loaded but very thought-provoking question! As I was writing my submission (keeping the number of words I could use in the forefront while writing), I could not stop thinking of YOU. This is where my inspiration for today’s blog originated. I would love to hear what you have to say. I will not put any restrictions on you. I don’t even care how you wish to respond. You can post your response on this blog by clicking on the ‘share your comments’ link below, use the contact form on my website, answer on facebook or send me a direct email message.
Imagine that your life is a painting that hangs on your wall. When you cast your eyes on that piece of artwork does it fill your heart with joy or do you feel that something is missing from its canvas? If the painting is incomplete, when will you decide that it is okay to remove it from the wall to rest upon your easel and with your paintbrush, add the colours you feel will enhance your work of art?
It all comes down to choice. There is nothing wrong with letting the image remain as it is. It’s still a beautiful piece of artwork that you can admire. If you are happy with what you see, that is all that matters in the end. Maybe your illustration only requires a few paint strokes to add to its already existing beauty. On the other hand, you may want to create a brand new work of genius. The point that I am trying to make is that just because your painting hangs on a wall does not mean that it is necessarily a finished piece of art. There should be no guilt associated with wanting to see a more colourful picture that represents your life. The paintbrush is in your hand. You are the artist and in complete control of the masterpiece you wish to create.
I do not want to assume where, when, how or from whom you get your inspiration from. All I care about is that you have your ways of keeping yourself motivated to live the best day that you can. I have written many times how I keep myself inspired and motivated to do a bit better every single day. Quotes, poems, books, music and movies are only some of my reference materials I turn to for keeping my thoughts and mind as positive as they can be.
The biggest source of inspiration comes from the teachers that surround us. They can come in all shapes, ages and sizes. They are not only confined to classrooms or lecture halls. They are the homeless woman you see on your streets. They are the elderly who have stories to share with those who will sit and listen. They are the ones who have made the choice to fade into the background to remain hidden but will be more than willing to share their lessons with us if we ask them to. They are the sick, the person sitting next to you on a bus, a co-worker, team mate or your beloved family pet. Teachers are everywhere. We just have to take the time to slow down, be present and listen to what these teachers have to share with us. Not having any of my own but being around many of our tiniest teachers throughout my life, children can sometimes simply cut to the chase and teach us all some of life’s most important lessons.
