Each day we are faced with choices on how we look at challenges in life
“What will we do with the rest of our lives?” asked Sara Davidson in her book “LEAP!” Davidson, a journalist and a member of the Boomer generation, wrote the book when turning 50.
I am 82 years old and asking the same question. Just when my life is settled, the unexpected happens and change beckons me to turn the corner.
I also work with men and women, of all ages, who are in the midst of change. Some changes you can choose. You may choose to stay with the familiar, and there is no fault in that. Others take the “LEAP!” They choose to make a change. It is the choice that is right for the individual at the time.
As I look back over my own life, I see those times when, if I had played it safe, I would have missed infinitely rich experiences. Of course, a few of my choices also led to brokenness and pain, but I have also learned one can grow strong in the broken places.
Then there are those changes that come to all of us, like illness and aging. As I face those, I am encouraged by the wisdom of this quote that reminds us that nothing really belongs to us except us. “We come with nothing and whatever we accumulate, we leave behind. What we keep forever is the love, which gives our life meaning, the discovery of joy in each other, and the joy of challenge and of growth.”
Those words — the joy of challenge and of growth — resonate with me. I have a choice. Whatever is happening in my life right now I can call depressing and frightening OR I can look at it as a challenge to be faced with the knowledge I can learn from it and perhaps it can then be useful to someone else.
I understand there are no guarantees about what lies ahead nor how many years that might be. Still, regardless of my age or condition, I find myself asking Davison’s question, “What will I do with the rest of my life?”
Inspiring me is a quote I once read by actor Dale E. Turner: “There are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.” Not sure what that means at my age! But why not? It changes my mood and points me in a good direction as I face each day.
Charlotte Lankard is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. Contact her at clankard@cox.net.