"To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I am born". I prefer my version of this iconic quote, "I begin my life with the ending of my life, i record that i have died, dead, dead, dead dead". I love Charles Dickens and especially Oliver Twist. You have to hand it to Dickens, he grabs you immediately, from the first sentence.
This is one heck of a way to start a day, and it may not be your brand of tea, however, it is precisely the way you should start your day! We spoke the other day of life as a "do over", well, that is exactly what the beginning of my new book, "The Puzzle", (do out later this Fall), is all about, or at least it is a way of getting your attention.
At the end of every decade, I believe you should take stock of your life, a review of where you are, an honest look at your life's to do list. We all see our lives Thur the filter of individual experience, it is this view of life that colors how we see ourselves and how we measure up so to speak. So how are you doing? Are you where you expected to be? Or are you wondering how the heck did I get here, and equally important what does it mean? Or where do I go from here? Simple questions with not so simple answers.
So if you could take stock of your life, if this was the end of your life, what would your "to do" list look like, and how much is left undone! Actually this is a pretty cool way to view life, whether one a decade, once a year or once a day. If you could do these mini reviews, what would they say of your life, are you where you always wanted to be? and if not why? It is not enough to say you were too busy or life just hot in the way of my goals. Here and now let me state categorically that you have to take responsibility for all your decisions, all your actions. You don't get left off the hook so easily, you have own your life, now this does not mean all your mistakes or short comings are etched in stone, rather it is the acknowledgement of your humanity that you recognize where you are in your life story. To understand it, roll it around in your head, ponder where you are and make the adjustments and then move on. Owning your life, is the first step in correcting the mistakes you know you have made ( on purpose or accidentally), and of healing your soul so you can move forward. And moving forward and getting smarter about your life in specific and the world in general is what it is all about. You want to know the purpose of your life, the whole point of living here, do you really want to know your "Reason DE Entree", your reason for being? Well that is the short answer, and that is to get smarter, that is it in a nutshell, simple yet complex.
"What does that mean, getting smarter, it can't be that you say, there has to be more", you say. Well that is it and there is more, so much more, and that is the journey you are on, that is your task at hand, that is the "Puzzle" you have to put together and then figure out the meaning. You really didn't think I could tell you what you need and what the answers are to your "Puzzle" did you! How can I know what you have spent a lifetime trying to figure out. But what I can tell, what I know is the answers to your life's questions, and where you have to look is close at hand. As immediate as your next thought, or as near to you as your next feeling.
So start today as if it were the end of your life, knowing that you can rewrite your life's script and turn to the next chapter in your journal and write the life you imagine for yourself and in so doing you begin the process of healing the past so that you can move into the present and enjoy the gift your life is.
Have a joyful day!
Robb
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I will be waiting for your new book, The Puzzle. What you write is so thought-provoking and also makes me ask myself many questions. But I am chosing JOY every day when I wake up. It's a conscious effort.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts and your brilliance.