Life is happening. Time is passing. People are getting older. What fun to celebrate! Especially when you consider the alternative – no more birthdays. I remember 50. I celebrated in grand style from coast to coast. It’s a great milestone to recognize just how long you’ve been on the planet. It’s a time to reflect on what you’ve experienced and how you’ve lived your life. Turning 50 is a time to celebrate yourself. By the time you’ve spent 50 years living, you have a pretty good idea of who you are. Your opinion of yourself matters more than other’s opinions of you.
What advice do I offer to someone who has reached the age of 50? Jimi Hendrix offered this in a poem found where he died at the age of 27. “The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again.” It seems to me that you ought to know everything you need to know by now, yet life is constantly changing and you get to learn more. You learn more about love, compassion and acceptance. You learn more about the beauty of being alive. You learn gratitude.
You will not realize you have aged until you notice it from the outside. It might be a photograph or a glance in a mirror that makes you aware. Your skin will show the signs of the passing years and the effects of gravity will wear on the physical body. On the inside, you are the same. You are timeless and eternal. Remember you are living in a shell. It is designed to create awareness of the physical experience and it will reflect the choices you have made and the experiences you have created.
You will find time to do what you want to do because you know what it is. And you can give yourself permission.
You will speak your truth, because it has value.
You will be more aware of the passing of time and know how to savor the gift of the now moment. And then you will recognize that your time on the planet is limited and that you’re probably half done. It may make you sad because when you’re having so much fun it’s hard to leave the party.
Your heart will grow and grow and grow because you have experienced more love.
It has been said, “In youth we learn; in age we understand.” Welcome to the time of understanding…the age of knowing.