A Time for Reflection

"Aging is not 'lost youth' but a new stage of opportunity and strength."                                                                            Betty Friedan

Week #1

I’m about to hit 60 years of age...head on! 

Isn’t this ‘age business’ strange? We talk about it…we meditate on it…and we try and fight it.  We even try and make light of it with humor…I have a niece that just turned 30.  She had broken her leg and was using a crutch to get around. One day she walked into the Doctor’s office.  He was surprised to see her in a cast, “What happened to you?” He asked. Holding up the crutch my niece replied, “I turned 30!” As we were listening to her commiserate about becoming an ‘old lady’ at 30, my husband, who just turned 60, replied, “Oh my, I guess they’ll be using a feeding tube on me then.” 

What is it about these specific dates in time that cause us to mourn, or celebrate this passing of time?  Well I, like so many others, am trying to sort out what this date will mean for me. 

Upon turning 75, one lady in our community celebrated by jumping out of an airplane. Now there’s an idea!  How about hurling my body from a Cessna aircraft soaring at 300 mph! I’d no doubt spend the entire decent worrying that my bone-scan doctor might have been right when he warned me I might suffer a broken bone if I take a fall.   

In order to celebrate his occasion of turning 60, my husband convinced two of his buddies to join him in hiking down the Grand Canyon.  One of them almost died from heat stroke, and the other confessed, in the middle of the trip, that he had acrophobia. But in the end they made it home safely after 3 days on the trail, and were thrilled to be alive and, of course, had great tales to bring home as well.

One person in know of, celebrated turning 50 by writing down 50 things she wanted to do that year and began checking them off . The last day of her 50th year she completed the list.  My sister took on the challenge of 60 paintings in 60 days.

I have friends who have celebrated birthdays with trips to Hawaii, Broadway shows in New York, Botox parties, facelifts and running marathons.  However, none of these ideas feel right for me.…and I sure as heck don’t want a party with guests in black, bringing their favorite old lady gag gifts.    So where does that leave me?  

As I was driving home from California a few weeks ago it finally hit me….I don’t think I want a single event or a single day, but rather ‘a year of becoming’…a year of reflection.  A year of small changes, in order to get big results.  In fact, that idea happened to be the theme of a program I was listening to.  Small changes for big results.  I want to do something that doesn’t just celebrate or challenge me, but that actually ‘grows me’.  I want to be better when I turn 61, than I am at 60!

Now, let me be honest; I have had my share of experience in setting goals and thinking big.  I mean who hasn’t tried to lose those 15 pounds in two weeks? In fact my family makes fun of my fascination with goals and often begs me not to try and get them psyched about my latest goal shenanigans.  “Promise us,” they plead, “Don’t make us do any self improvement seminars while you’re visiting us this time!” 

No, setting lofty goals at 60 are not what I’m shooting for…I’m going for the small steps…like the astronaut Neil Armstrong said in the year 1969 (Ahhh 1969, a year when I had a tight butt, perky breasts, no cellulite, no sagging underarms and not a varicose vein to be found on my body).  I know, I can even become my own experiment!  I can test the hypothesis:  Will using small steps actually bring big results?

Now, to be honest, I don’t think that what I am doing in my own life is of any particular interest to the rest of the world, but, suppose others joined in on the experiment as well?  Although you may not be turning 60 or 50, or even 30, maybe you’re just ready for some changes in your life…in that case, I invite you to become part of the fun. Let’s see what big results we can achieve by using small steps. Follow me each week as we take the journey together.