Girlfriend. Let’s talk.
Your life? It’s a big deal.
Your age? Yes, the numbers are moving up.
That tiny voice somewhere in the back of your head that’s telling you it might be too late? Stop listening to it.
It’s never too late to live a rich and full and joy-filled life.
We can choose how we want to live, right? Feeling tired and frumpy and settling in there because it’s comfortable usually takes us to the pity party. (Don’t go there. It’s not much fun. The food will give you a stomach ache, the company is boring, there aren’t any decorative streamers, and you can’t dance to the music.) Instead, focus on all the good stuff around you and all you can accomplish and celebrate. Whether you are in your 30’s, 50’s, or 90’s – it’s not too late.
Here’s the deal …
Our life experiences. Our ups and downs. Our mistakes and wins. We wrap them all up and create a full, imperfect, beautiful, life. My life – your life – is not one big chapter. It’s a can’t-put-it-down memoir composed of hundreds of chapters! Mystery. Love. Drama. Loss. Relationships. Tears. Belly laughs. More drama. Suspense. Memories. Ice cream. (I had to add ice cream, because really. What is life if it doesn’t include ice cream?)
You can start a new chapter – make a fresh start – anytime you want. Today, for instance! Read something that lifts your spirits. Put on your tennies, pull on your shorts, and walk around the block. Use that lotion that’s only for special occasions. Fix that new recipe. Color your hair. Write the first sentence of your next chapter. Take a nap that refreshes your muscles and soul. Say “I’m sorry.” Sit in your cozy chair and dream. Do something that brings you joy.
Today can be a memory-making day of celebrations and surprises. Yes, we might hope that tomorrow will be better. But I know deep down in my heart that there is always something good in every day. I just need to watch for it.
These next words wake me up and encourage me from my head to my toes! One of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott, wrote this on her Facebook page on May 12, 2014:
“What if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written, or you didn’t go swimming in those warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen.
Doesn’t that just make you want to stand up and cheer – YAASSSS!
(Or if you’re not quite as emotionally demonstrative or overly-enthusiastic as some, maybe you just want to nod your head and smile?)
Oh, friend. Please hear my heart.
It is never too late to live a really great life.
YOU matter.
Make a fresh start today!
