Why is it, our culture has bought into the idea that once we hit our 40’s and older it is all down hill. I believe with every breath I take, there is never any end to growth, be it mentally, physically, or spiritually. When we stop growing, we die.
How is it, that two of my friends whose husbands have just retired from their same job of 40+ years, are now needing hospice and or 24 hour care? I will never retire, because that almost seems like a death sentence. What is the point of retiring, I mean really? So you can sit around and do nothing? Not have a routine? Not have somewhere to go? That is a hard NOPE for me!
Many of us are creatures of habit. And these two husbands are a prime example of that. Over the course of the last 40+ years, everyday they probably woke up at the same time, ate the same breakfast, drank from the same coffee cup, drove the same way to work, had the same lunch, went to the same place for vacation, everything was the same. They had a habit, a routine, may be boring to some, but none the less, it was their routine. Now they literally have nothing, or so they were unable to build a new routine. Perhaps it was just to frightening at the thought of not having that comfort of habit. Who knows, but my heart truly goes out to them and their families. What they thought their retirement life was going to be is surely not at all ending up to be that.
When age intersects their habit, somehow we buy into the thought process it is time to retire. But why? Is this what society expects? American Airlines oldest flight attendant is Bette Nash, she is 84 and the oldest flight attendant in the world. She clearly has seen no reason to retire. I will never retire. I will take my passport and laptop with me to the other side as I will always be traveling and creating something new!
I read an article today about a Nobel prize winner that made a discovery about single cell animals living indefinitely. Dr. Alexis Carrel in 1912 took tissue from an embryo chick heart, placed it in a culture medium. It lived and grew fr 30 years until they got tired of tending to it and threw it out. In this article it also went on to say that cells regenerate themselves every few days. There is not a piece of tissue, bone, or cell in our bodies that is older than 11 months. Our minds get in the way and tell us what we should or should not be.
So, I challenge you. Pick up a book, read 2 pages today, then 3 tomorrow, then 4 the next day till you are consistently reading 10 pages everyday. I read the 10 pages before meditation, or at bedtime. I like keeping it to 10 pages as it is quick and I can digest the thoughts I just read easily.
Get out of your chair or off the couch and walk out the front door to the curb. Then tomorrow. walk to the end of the block, then to the next block, then the next day around the block. My point being, stretch yourself until you are walking briskly for 30 minutes everyday.
Next, and most important, I want you to get a stack of sticky notes. WRITE THE FOLLOWING…….
I AM ENOUGH
I AM PERFECT AS I AM
I AM STRONG
I AM COURAGEOUS
I AM GORGEOUS/HANDSOME
I AM GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE
Now, place these somewhere that you will look at them over and over though out the day!
You know what you have just done? You are taking the necessary steps to ensure THERE IS NEVER ANY END TO GROWTH IN YOUR LIFE!~Shirene