It’s so cliche. Today is the youngest you will ever be again. Each day you are changing and transforming at a cellular level. Most cells in the body die and are replaced many times over your life. You literally are not the same person you once were. That gives you permission to change your mind and grow into the next version of yourself, especially when it’s for the better!
Some of these self identifying things are character traits and they don’t change with cells but rather with your journey. My late father-in-law drank excessively his whole life and wouldn’t stop even for his wife. Until she left, suddenly he stopped and never drank another drop again. The damage was done, it was too late. But lucky enough, it was a gift to himself. He was able to enjoy the second half of his life a different way. Through clear eyes.
My parents have their own issues, we all do. The most ironic one was probably that they both my mom and dad smoked cigarettes. As a child growing up in the 80’s and 90’s the smoking economic rules were pretty relaxed, you could smoke in planes, in cars with the windows rolled up, smoke in your house, smoke in bars and restaurants. I hated my parents for it and always complained. I’ll never forget coming home from a sleepover at a friends house whose parents did not smoke. When I got home I was in my closet and happened to get a whiff of my clothes hanging and they smelled like they were cleaned with an ashtray. I hid their cigarettes, I bought them ashtrays with fans to suck up the smoke. I was relentless. Guess who ended up smoking? Me. It makes no sense besides the addiction part. It’s tough. So glad they quit and so did I but it just goes to show you the power of addiction.
Some people are not that lucky, they are still in the depths of addiction. They too are still on their journey. They are still as young as they will ever be. They have time to change, but it has to be for themself. Some people don’t realize that they are addicted and they think it is a part of who they are. It isn’t until they get fed up with themselves that they realize they have the power to change. Albeit hard, it is possible.
Many things we see and judge are more about perception. Your perception changes with time but each time you think it’s the truth. Exibit 1: color block blazers, mullets, tight rolled jeans and life.
I saw a photo of a friend and her mom on a trip. The mom was probably between her 60-80’s and she was living her best life with her color block blazer on. It looked like she came straight out of a old TV show called In Living Color. The thing was she looked so confident, happy, calm and collective. I felt gob smacked. All this time I am so quick to notice when someone has an outdated style. I’ve known for a while that people like this usually try and freeze time from the best part of their life. While most people look at someone with a super old car, a mullet, a color block blazer or any other “old time” thing and judge them for being out dated. What if, we were conditioned by corporate America to think this way? We always have to buy the latest trend and when it’s over we have to discard it. What if the people that decide they like something and stick with it are the actual smart ones?! I’d say based on corporate America, big pharma and politicians getting caught trying to make us think one thing when another is true
I remember bringing my daughter to school in a snow storm. We only lived 3 blocks from school so many kids were still walking. The house closest to the school did not shovel the sidewalk in time and kids were forced to walk through the snow whether they had on snow boots or not. There was a man outside that house who had just began shoveling and I judged him so hard. What a piece of crap. Letting all these kids get their shoes and socks wet before their school day even gets started. What kind of a low-life person does that?! On my way home I came back the same way and realized this loser was actually a good Samaritan and the house wasn’t even his. He had realized what was going on and took it upon himself to try and help the kids as much as he could with the time he had. Now who’s the loser? Me. For being so closed-minded to the situation and not thinking the possibilities that it could have been. I just saw what I saw and made my own narrative. Has this happened to you before? I could probably think of 100 scenarios like this.
The point? Just know that no matter where you are on your journey, make sure to take a inventory of where you are and where you want to be. As for today, just worry about being the most authentic version of yourself you can be and know that you are changing inside and your character can change in an instant. It can change because you are paying attention and following the subtle cues life is giving you, or it can change abruptly because you are not.
Matthew 6:24
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