Early in the 60’s in my hometown of Dublin, Ireland I managed to get tickets to see that fabulous group The Who, live in concert. (It was indeed a long time ago as Keith Moon the original drummer was alive then). I loved their music and still do. In fact in the gym my workouts usually include their great song and anthem “Who Are You?”
When I first heard the song it set a lifetime question for me, “who am I”? In those teen years we tried to figure out what life is about and what we should be doing with this precious lifetime gift. Now, however, at age 73, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t yet know who I am as I’m still evolving, pursuing new interests, trying new things and planning new adventures.
Sometimes we put life on hold as we do many of the things that society and family expect of us. I certainly did. That is until I came to realise that, as the great Jim Rohn said “you have two choices, make a living or design a life”. From that time on I’ve been in pursuit of a full life. I think it was George Bernard Shaw that said, “I want to go to my grave completely used up” and why not? So my mantra is “better to evolve than age”.
Presuming that we have made health maintenance a priority in life, who knows what we can still explore, experience or enjoy? Nobody has the right to say “it’s too late to do what you’ve always wanted to do”. If someone did say that to you, ignore it and them. Life is a precious gift and nobody knows how long we will have to live it to the full.
A recent quote I read was “Better to say I can’t believe I did that, than say wish I had at least tried that”.
Many times our life path has been dictated by others, some well-meaning, some not so. If you are reading this it’s likely that you qualify as a “senior”, meaning that you have reached an age in your life that is going to provide you with more opportunities to evolve than ever before.
We’ve raised our families, worked for decades (sometimes doing what we really didn’t want to do, but hey, it pays the bills) and now it’s time for you! So, “Who Are You”? Who do you want to be? What do you want to explore, to experience? Every day we read stories of people who up to their 90’s are starting a new business, going sky diving, heading back to school to continue the pursuit of academic achievement, learning new things etc. So, why not you and why not now? Are you planning to listen to what age (and possibly retirement) would normally dictate?
Or, are you going to say that there are so many more things to do or accomplish? As has been said “if we are not growing we are coasting and you can only coast downhill”.
I had lunch a while ago with someone I thought I knew quite well. However, he surprised me by saying that the one thing he had left in life was “regrets” for all he might have done or at least tried.
That caused me to think that there are possibly a lot in our age group out there who need to hear that “it aint’ over ‘til it’s over”.
How long we live is not as important as how we live and if there are still some areas that move your interest “go for it”. Ignore the naysayers, invariably, if you look at who they really are, you will notice that their accomplishments are minimal. As I’ve always said “never accept the criticism until you review the credentials of the critic”.
It’s your life and if you want to pursue what you’ve always been interested in, do it and do it now. Dreams never die, people do.
Is this your time to evolve? Some of the most exciting things I’ve done were since I passed the age 65. (See bottom of article) At 73 I’m still evolving and asking myself “Who Are You”?
Maybe it’s time to ask yourself the same question. You don’t have to, but who knows what you may find out if you do?
Viva La Evolucion !
