Today is my 67th birthday. I remember asking my dad on his birthday in 2022, what it felt like to turn 90. All he said was, “where did the time go.” I get it dad. I find it very hard to believe I have lived on this earth for 67 years today. And like my dad, I wonder where the time went. How did 67 years go by so fast?
But here I am. As I think back on my years, I also think about all the life lessons I have learned. Here are just a few:
Pay attention. It is too easy to let life just slip by. Pay attention. Stop and listen to the world around you. See the beauty God created in everything. See your family. Don’t see them for who you wish they were but for who they are in all their infinite wonder and messiness.
Love. In this world today, it is easy to get caught up in our anger at the injustices we have experienced or witnessed. There are many. But being angry is just another way to waste the precious time you have. Find ways to let it go. If you need counseling to help you…get it. Paul wrote that when everything gets distilled down to the most important things we are left with Faith, Hope, and Love. And the greatest of the three is Love. Hate isn’t worth our time. Choose love.
Do the “fun stuff”. It is so easy to get caught up in work. There is always something that needs doing. But in many cases, the work will be there tomorrow. You can’t put getting your work done forever…I apologize to all the procrastinators out there…but when an opportunity comes along to spend time with friends or family do it. When the opportunity comes along to go do something fun…as the NIKE company would say: Just Do It! Life is too short so enjoy it.
Take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. We only get one body. Take care of it. I hope God allows me to live to 100. That is my goal. In order to achieve that, I try to take care of the body I have. I want to enjoy life and the best way to enjoy life is to take the time to do the self-care I need to stay healthy. It is worth the effort.
Spend time with friends. So important and I think it is fairly self-explanatory. But friendships are important. They are the people who are honest with us…who do life with us…who keep us grounded. Friendships keep us connected to the world out there. Good friends give us the space to laugh, cry, and may even help us toilet paper the high school the day before graduation…. but I would know nothing about that.
Regrets. I can’t help but think of the line in the song “My Way” made popular by Frank Sinatra… “regrets, I have a few….” I might sing it this way: “regrets…I have so many….” But here is what I know about regrets: Don’t waste too much time on them. We all have them. We all have to live with the choices we made. Acknowledge them. Cry over them. And move on. Live your life.
Cry. When life goes sideways and it will. Let yourself cry. Let yourself grieve over the ways things aren’t the way they were supposed to be. Trust me. My younger self would never have designed my life the way it turned out. And yet, I am the person I am because of the difficulties I have walked through. But I would never want to walk through them EVER again. Just sayin’… I am equally sure that when you think about the hard spaces in your own life…you would never want to experience them again either. The hard spaces shape us. They force us to see life as it is and not through rose-colored glasses. The hard spaces can make or break us. Don’t let them break you. Grow strong instead.
There are so many other lessons I have learned throughout my life, and I look forward to the lessons I will continue to learn in my future. For today, I will celebrate. I will get a pedicure. I will have dinner with my family. I will eat cake. And I am pretty sure I will get into a little mischief. Just a little…
Peace,
Beth
