Lists and More Lists, and Some Real Encouragement

Since my birthday, I have been spending time contemplating who I am, where my life is going, and what the future could hold for me. I soon found that I was just spinning my wheels, stuck in a chasm, balancing between feeling as if there is nothing I CAN'T do and feeling as if it's too late to do ANYTHING.

I started making lists. The first list I titled "Dreams" and began writing down those real tasks, accomplishments and personal relationship goals that are closest to my heart. The next list, I called "Realities" and in that list, I included those unchangeable things which are permanent roadblocks. The third list is named "Possibilities" and consists of what dreams, if adapted to deal with the Realities, can still be accomplished. For example, I will never be able to go to college full time or out of state and lines of study such as medicine or law are out of the question, considering the amount of time needed to get through them. However, the possibility does exist of finally obtaining a bachelor's degree if I buckle down to the work and try obtaining some life credits or credit from other alternate learning experiences I have had.

I concluded that retirement will most likely be a financial impossibility for me, and that I have mostly likely already passed the halfway point of my life. Unlike some late bloomers who use the financial independence of retirement to finally pursue dreams, I must find the time to squeeze in the dreams as I continue to function in the work world. I am contemplating re-reading Judith Viorst's Necessary Losses, a book I strenuously opposed in my 30s. Something tells me it may make more sense now.

Of course, none of us know what will happen tomorrow, we could win the lottery or get hit by a bus. So, when I read Suzanne Beyer's essay about becoming a writer at 60, it encouraged me to keep plugging along. Bravo, Suzanne, I'm right behind you!

My Writing Life Began at 60 By Suzanne G. Beyer