Old

It was a wonderful box of Christmas magic, these gifts that had traveled across the country from my niece and her family to me. One of the presents was a teddy bear with a tee shirt on that says, "You are amazing." My ten-year-old grandniece chose it for me, and her mom said, "It never occurred to her that you might be too old for a teddy bear." We were chatting on Facebook, and I typed, "I am not too old for a teddy bear." I must have hit the button twice, because that sentence came out twice. I don't think I meant to do that. Or did I? My niece said I did, because it's a mantra. I am not too old...I am not too old...

When we want to argue for our limitations, being too old is a very convenient excuse. And surprisingly, other people, especially younger ones, won't even bother to call us out on it. If we say we are too old, the universe agrees with us. Part of the reason I am here on this planet, I believe, is to experience as much as I possibly can. Experience. Embrace. Enjoy. The other reason is to become self-actualized, to be everything I possibly can be. That will involve breaking old, destructive habits and changing for the better.

My age of 54 is the best age ever. I am more adventurous and less self-conscious than I was when I was younger. I also have experienced failure (two significant ones, the failure of my marriage and the failure of a business I owned) to know that failing doesn't mean I am a failure. That failure won't kill me. That sometimes the most surprising, wondrous gifts life can bring come out of disappointing failures. Really, I have absolutely no excuse not to live life fully and be all that I can be.

What about you? What are you too old for?

Susan