I can't think of a better time to re-evaluate those experiences that I want to accomplish before I kick the bucket, having just followed through with one on my birthday. But before I do, of course, I should say a few things...Speaking of kicking- I often need a kick in the pants. I mean, to help get my outlook back "on-track" or adjust my attitude or however you want to say it. I wish that I could say that I learned that about myself over the years well enough to initiate the "kick" on my own. But I haven't. As I've pondered about in previous blogs, the carefree spirit of my youth that was so willing to take chances, to act the fool, to jump in feet-first, to experience life with abandon- often gets lost in the muck of adult routines. But I feel like I've finally come to understand and digest what determines the balance. I've known it all along, I even have quotes about it posted at my desk and elsewhere to remind me of the importance. But it just hasn't truly sunk in until recently. It's all about perspective. I'm not just talking about simple point of view. I mean equanimity. And I want it. I feel as though a good place to start will involve somehow evoking the frame of mind that existed when I wanted so much to be "grown up" as a kid and then melding that with the present-day longing for the "innocence of youth" as an adult.
I realize, as with all truly worthwhile things in life, that even coming close to such a refined state of being will require daily, hourly and often minute to minute adjustment of my attitude and mindset. In other words, a lot of work. But I think the morning of July 9, 2011 push-pinned into my very being a prominent reminder of just how important "perspective" is in life. I want to hang on to that as tight as I can as I proceed through the next 42 or so years.
