Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
Nothing endures but change. Heraclitus
What if we speak our lives into being? When we say “It’s a good day,” it is. When we say, “We can’t, or that’s not for people like us,” it becomes our reality. What if what we say yes to and what we say no to in life is how we build everything, and every choice we make, makes us? If we accept this and own it, what choices would lead to a happier, fuller, and more impactful life? How much good do we talk ourselves out of, we don’t put in the resume, so we can’t get the job. We don’t apply so we won’t be accepted. We say, “Forget it,” before we voice what we want.
What do we want? Is that what so many of us don’t know? Are we better at knowing what we don’t want than what we do want? Change is stepping into the great unknown, and that is hard – we know what we have – but what if an adventure awaits? Especially for those who have raised children, are close to the end of their careers, and retirement looms. There is the FIRE movement of young people wanting to retire early.
We might have been looking forward to it, but now it is here or getting close and we are comfortable or at least familiar with where we are, and maybe we start thinking what if we work one more year, or ten more years? Will we be happier and healthier if we work right up to the end? Do we get too much of our identity out of our job? Are we okay with being retired? Is it different if we choose to retire rather than being forced to retire? Do we want partial retirement?
As a New Year approaches we naturally think about what we want to change, have more or less of in the New Year. What if we are a couple and the changes we want to bring into our lives aren’t the same? We don’t even feel comfortable exploring the different directions we might want to take. Do we take turns, we’ll do what you want to do and then do what I want to do. But, the question still is, what do we want, and what changes are we willing to make?
One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life. Anatole France
If the GoGo years of retirement are getting to be upon us, we don’t know how long they will last before the things we wanted to do, see, or accomplish are beyond our capabilities, and like Mom used to say, “All I want now is my old rocking chair.”
For some there’s never been enough time, for others, there’s never been enough money, and for many, there has never been enough of both. But, is a lot of that all in our heads? There’s time and money for what we decide there is time and money for. Otherwise, how can some people find the time and money in seemingly the same circumstances? They sell the house, rent, and travel the world. They sell the business, return to where they grew up, and build the home of their dreams.
What would we change if we could go back forty years to prepare for now? We can’t do that, but what if we could do something to make the next twenty, thirty, or forty years better? If we are lucky we have twenty, thirty, and even forty or more good years ahead of us, what do we want to do with them? Do we have a decision, or decisions that need to be made to make the years ahead of us the best they can be?
The time will pass whether we do anything with it or not. What would we like to change, add, or delete from our lives?
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. Rumi
If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change. John A Simone
Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t. Steve Maraboli
Thank you for reading this post. Please return and read more, and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
