When we are young, we can't wait to get older, to drive a car, strike out on our own, do it our way! When we arrive there, we usually find it much more difficult than we thought, but we're hell bent on having a good time, no matter what.
Suddenly, we find that it's no longer "all about ourselves" as we marry and begin a family, but that's OK, because we're going to be the very best spouse, parent and provider. We find ourselves struggling along the way, realizing that the rest of the world isn't going to make this easy, but we keep on plugging away, as long as we can come back home with those we love.
Then we start to get a bit more serious about thinking what we have done so far. We struggle with providing for everyone, but wondering if we are allowed to think about ourselves again. What if I hadn't....wonder if I had only....what would my life be like now?
Somewhere between our 4th and 5th decade, we begin to think of some things we better serioulsy start doing. What will it be like when I retire?....Will I be able to retire?....So we get serious about organizing finances and goals.
Beyond our 5th decade, we hit a realization about where we are and what we need to do. We may find a new confidence about ourselves and wonder why we never had it before. We begin to look inside ourselves and realize that it is indeed time to look for inner value that leads to happiness. We begin to discover that we never wasted time because everything we did made us who we are and gave some sense of what we still need to do.
One thing we realize for certain as we age is that every minute of every day is one more and one less step on life's journey and somewhere along the road, we need to always Stop and Smell the Roses, as Ferdinand. The story of Ferdinand, the bull who followed his heart and proved that just because you're a bull you don't have to act like one, served as a major influence and spirit in the 2009 movie The Blind Side, the story of Michael Oher, with a similar metaphorical message.
The link below is to a video of my mother's life from her early years until Alzheimer's ended her journey on Earth on Jan. 25, 2010. Watching the video gives a real sense of how fast it really goes....91 years in 10 minutes....Make the best of it!
(You may need to click on "Small" below the video to see the picture in proper size)
(You may need to click on "Small" below the video to see the picture in proper size)
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