As of today I have roamed the earth for 39 years. And that's what it is for most of the younger years, roaming, and trying to find your way. If only you realized then that all those people whose opinion you worried about never really matter in the end. I wish I could take that self consciousness away from my daughter so that she could skip the headache. When she was an infant I desperately wanted to figure out what she needed and wanted so that we could establish a routine that we could stick to. It never happened. The needs changed and she changed constantly as she grew. As adults, we are still evolving. But, I think it's a good thing that we are not stagnant. Instead we are experiencing personal growth all through our adult years and we never stop learning about the world and ourselves. It is important to use all the little and large tragedies that pass through our lives as the stepping stones to who we become for the better. If we have not learned from mistakes and hardships, what was the point?
In some ways, I am still the same person I was as a child. When I am flying through the woods on my bike splattering mud everywhere including my teeth where that childlike excitement has broken the surface to my smile. Each time I catch a wave surfing or excitedly paddle over to explore dolphin friends. Every day that I witness a new sky filled masterpiece. Physically I can see and feel the years that have gone by and the difference between now and a few decades ago. The priorities have shifted as well as goals, and realizing what I do and don't want from life. In another 20 years that will have all changed and will continue to change throughout each year.
What I have learned thus far:
It is your life. No one else will live it for you so do not try please them all. There is no time like the present because tomorrow may never come. You have to work really hard to meet goals and be prepared to not reach them. You will fail a lot. Learn from it. You will surprise yourself at what you can do but, you will never find out if you don't try. You can count on God not people. People suck sometimes. Other times they are filled with love and generosity. You can never fully be prepared for either. You can survive more than you think you can. When you can not figure out why adversity or loss happened to you, it was to help someone else who will go through something similar. Success is not accumulating materialistic things, status, power, wealth, position. Success is what you define it to be. There is much more I'm sure but, I am moving on to enjoy the rest of my day :)