New Year is the time of change. The calendar, the season and for many people, too. When I think about change, a Wayne Dyer quote comes to mind, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” Dr. Dyer has written many self-empowerment books over the years, transforming from “warrior” to “prophet”. It’s true, we all go through many different lives in a lifetime. I keep telling my children that. Well, they are adult children now in their early 20s. But young people always feel like “this is it”, “this is the most important”, or “this is my only chance.” Well, us silverbacks always chuckle at a statement like that. If life is a novel, then they have just experienced a few of the opening chapters. And yet, so much does happen from childhood to young adulthood. Those are certainly some formative years (I “Wonder” who told us that growing up.) You do learn a lot about yourself in that “tween” stage. But mostly you are just trying to catch your breath and jump on and off the merry-go-round. The teen years are a whirlwind of hormones and the early 20s are an adventure into adulthood. So much energy goes into expanding your mind, your relationships and this unfortunately is the time you solidify some of those bad habits. Love has become a mantra and self-importance a way of life. Acceptance from your peers continues on from your teen years, but there is some pulling away and it becomes enlightening to discover one’s sense of self from time to time. Then you jump into your 30s and a career, and marriage and family are a part of your fiber. Your heart gets broken a few times along the way. But you recover eventually. Soon it becomes evident that no one is more important than number one. Not in a selfish way, but in a personal growth way. Some of us take longer to discover ourselves, some try most of our lives. Purpose becomes more important than pleasing. Catering to friends takes a back seat to family. Not in a mean way, but in an expanding horizons way. Children make you more complete where you might have thought a few life’s pieces were missing. And then your 40s finds career and family sometimes in conflict. A few hard times thickens our skin for even harder times to come. In your 50s you experience death and dying and a few dreams perhaps you have had since childhood are never recognized. But so many other hopes emerge and happiness grows as you become more satisfied with who you are and that mid life crisis left you bruised but not beaten. Truth is, there is nothing more wonderful than having dreams and aspirations and working to see them come to life. And your realize, it’s the process — not the product. If one dream fails, another is added to the list and so long as you have a plan, there is hope. And in the end, hope is what keeps all of us going. Year after year after year. Hope that our dreams can come true. Hope that our children’s dreams come true, hope that we can still find a smile after tears and joy after sorrow. Life is indeed like a novel. Each of us our own author. Each of us with pen in hand, love in our heart and hope in our soul. Another year gone by. Another paragraph on the page. A few sayings come to mind when I get this philosophical about new year’s resolutions:
“The scenery only changes for the lead dog”
“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
“It’s never too late to change.”
Happy New Year, J.B. Lester; Publisher