What’s Your Slideshow?
Making wishes come true.
The average life expectancy for women is about 81 years. I take pretty good care of myself, so hopefully I will exceed that average, but you never know. Thus far, I’ve lived 588 months, 17,885 days, 429,240 hours, and 1,545,264 seconds. Those numbers don’t seem as large as my life feels, but the reality is I likely have less than that going forward. I don’t often think about how much time I have left in this life, but birthday’s have a way of refocusing my intentions, and today is that day for me. Birthday’s awaken my awareness of how I choose to spend my time. Taking stock allows me to live with more intention and focus on fulfilling what is truly important. I ask myself, ‘Am I spending my time as I truly wish? Am I surrounding myself with the people that make me happiest, make me the best version of myself? Am I spending my days doing the things I want to do, the things that make me genuinely happy? Am I on a path to accomplish the things that are important to me? Today, my answer is yes.
When my final sunset finds its way to my door, I don’t want to see a vivid slideshow of all the things I never did, the paces I never saw, the people I never loved or the goals I never accomplished. You may be asking, ‘What exactly does that mean? Most it’s my hope that my family feels my love for them and how important they are to me. I’m unimpressed by words and I hope they see and feel my love. My children, parents, sister, brother in law, aunt, and cousins all sit firmly on that list. The same goes for my friends. I need to know in my heart that my friends feel how important they are to me in this lifetime. I’m mindful to be kind to others, that my energy is positive, and that I’ve lived an honest and truthful life. I think of all the farway places I hope to experience, and the career goals that I want to fulfill.
I remember once someone very close to me completely forgot my birthday. I mean, one hundred percent forgot. The entire day had passed, and even during our first phone conversation of the day he had no recollection. I asked myself why do I really care if he forgot my birthday? Is it that big of a deal? People get caught up, and of course it can happen. I am not infallible, and of course I’ve been guilty being forgetful over the years. After some contemplation, I came to understand it hurt because each February 16th marks another year of growth, development and experiences that should be acknowledged and celebrated. Perhaps I felt his forgetting my birthday signaled a lack of appreciation and taking my presence for granted. We all hope the people we surround ourselves with show us they are thankful that we are here in this word, that we are important and our presence is valued. After all, a birthday marks the actual day of your birth, the beginning, the day we entered this world, and birthdays honor that blessing.
Birthdays mark another competed year with our family and friends, living the rollercoaster of lifes ups and downs. Some years are better than others. Some are happy, some are filled with sadness, some are years of accomplishments, others of failure, but time doesn’t stop,and aging doesn’t stop. We trudge forward filling the years with babies, weddings, promotions, divorces, moves, and various milestones shaping what weaves together to form a lifetime. Next year I will have been on this earth for half of a century. That feels shocking and comfortable all at the same time. I’m right where I should be. I look back and I’m happy with my accomplishments yet, I look forward to the many things I still need to complete to feel fulfilled.There are many more places I want to visit, career goals to be pursued, and relationships to be formed.
Today, on my day of birth, my day of beginning, I have the opportunity to begin again and leave behind the events of the past year. Air fills my lungs and a calmsness settles in my chest at the thought of leaving all that muck and ugliness in my 49th year. As I begin my 50th year, here, in this life, on this earth with all of you, I am filled with optimism and a warm golden light that radiates from my heart, ignited by my family, friends and supporters who inspire me to make sure my years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds are meaningful. I’m striving for a slideshow of my life that will make me smile from all the wonderful memories I’ve made doing the things I love, with the people I love. Next time your birthday rolls around, think about your slideshow and what you hope to see.