I WONDER about the origin of that old adage, "Life begins at forty." As of this writing, I do not have ample time to google it, so I am just leaving it at that.
Besides, with so many unreliable info you can get from the internet, there is no guarantee the explanation I will find is the correct one, or at the very least, the most accurate, and I do not want to devote half of my space to that.
So anyway in a few days my life will "begin". And before whatever phase or aspect of it ends on my 39th year of existence I want to share some of the life "hacks" I have picked up along the way:
That a little kindness won't hurt. One of my life's mantras which I try my best to do every day is to be kind to others, to go the extra mile where kindness and compassion is concerned. I'm not perfect and there are days when this is so very hard to do. On worse days, I have the harshest words in my head for those seemingly deserving of them. These are days when I pray for more strength to be quiet instead.
That boredom is a fictitious concept. There are gazillions of things to do out there. Even naps negate boredom, FYI.
That your children are your grandest blessings. When I look at my girls, I always catch myself wondering what good it is I have done in my life to deserve them. They are not perfect and there are times they make my head want to explode, but in my heart, they are the best gifts, ever.
That opportunities abound. I've had a lot of struggles in life and through all of those hurdles in my journey (so far), I know I could have whined, complained, given up. But I was raised to believe that keeping the faith is already half the battle, and giving up is never an option. Every challenge, every failure should be viewed not as a dead-end but only as a setback that may require a detour, a change of perspective, an adjustment of sails. Through all of life's bittersweet serendipities, every negative turnout should be considered an opportunity for something better.
That we should "bloom where we are planted." Discontent is both dangerous and constructive. In my (almost) forty years of existence I have learned and appreciated the art of waiting, wondering and carefully realizing. Denouement. Epiphany. There was a literature class exam not long ago (about 20-plus years ago?) where these concepts were asked and I remember being one of the few to "guess" it. Sometimes it takes time to realize what we're here for; oftentimes we express discontent for what's happening in our lives. But it takes some time to actually get to the bottom of it. In fact, we have some questions that are left unanswered. But you know what? I have learned so far that sometimes, it is in the process of figuring out and struggling to find answers that we find life's meaning. It is during those moments that our lives actually matter.
That there is so much to be thankful for. Blessings, comfort, happiness, the littlest things, the sweetest people who have made your journey as interesting as possible, and even the few terrible ones who have made it miserable for some time. You, reading my ramblings, sharing in my joys, my frustrations, my pains, my couch confessions, hopefully enjoying my ink stains on this precious paper. Thank you.
And so life begins... I can't wait. (serendipity.couch@gmail.com)