Above is one of my favorite quotes. I've had it hanging over my computer for years - so many years, in fact, I often no longer notice it. But, it just happens to be the first quote that appears on my favorite video (which is actually an impressive advertisement for inspirational posters). That connection clicked just the other day.
If we are open to it, we can find inspiration in the most unexpected places. I'm learning so many things at this late stage in my life - pushing 62 - that I have to stop and tell myself (when I start bemoaning the fact that I "should have learned this years ago"), that it's o.k. How can I be anywhere else but where I'm supposed to be?
While writing this, I did an online search for terms such as "late bloomer," and I was surprised at the number and types of pages that appeared. One was, "How to Succeed in Life as a Late Bloomer."
If only life were so easy - just follow these nine steps and a number of helpful tips. Not so. It's all based on trial and error. And trying again. And for some of us, trying again, and again, and again.
I did appreciate the following advice and story:
"Be creative in overcoming obstacles. Don't let anything, even a lack of money or age discrimination, come between you and your dreams. If you're facing a wall you can't blast through, grab a shovel and dig under it or borrow a ladder and climb over the top! Better yet, just walk around the side. Take Evelyn Gregory, who became a flight attendant for US Air Express at age 71. After being rejected by three airlines, she accepted a job as a gate agent and let the corporate brass get to know her. Six months later, she was hired by US Air Express and flew for them for the next seven years."
"Remember that nothing you like to do is tiresome. From the outside looking in, it sounds daunting to go to medical school at 46, join the Peace Corps at 65, or become a flight attendant at 71. But the truth is that it isn't exhausting; it's exhilarating. It's far more tiring to do something you don't enjoy."
This is my second attempt at a blog. I started one when I turned 60, (S.O.S, - Starting Over at Sixty), because I was also single and had just lost my job right before I hit the big 6-0. It was painful. I thought it was a clever name, but it was also more of a plea for help, rather than a possible forum for sharing support and encouragement for others in a similar situation. I knew I was far from the only one.
I only posted two or three entries. Something was stopping me. That something was me. I guess I just wasn't ready. The timing wasn't right.
So, I begin again. New name, new blog, new attitude (which I admit, will take work to maintain). It's not that I no longer feel the need for anyone's help. I need that more than ever. We all do, even if we don't know it. I'm finally realizing others - even if only a few - just might need mine.
I am here for a reason.
I have something to offer.
I think my time has finally come, and for that, I am grateful.
