Today I’m 2 years old. (Although the calendar says I’m 42).
Something grand happened when I turned 40 – I entered my second life. Now that might be deep for all of you to process on a weekend, but believe me, this is true. The year 2009, the year I turned 40 was a hell of a year, one which rocked my world and changed everything about me and how I viewed the world. Kinda like a newborn, huh?
Brennan Manning describes this middle age transition well in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel. Specifically Chapter 9 – read it.
To me, when you turn 40, it’s a rebirth of some kind, a realization that perhaps the first half of your life was to figure it all out, only to reach 40 and figure out that you don’t know shit (sorry, but it’s true).
So when you realize that what you know wasn’t all the truth, you begin to look at life differently and like a child, you go out and rediscver the world – one day at a time. Everything you see, hear, and touch seems new. Every person you meet is an opportunity to discover a part of you.
I’ve discovered that I could have been living a more powerful life. That I had woefully sold myself short on the greatness stored up inside of me, and chose to allow others to direct my path instead of plugging into my Creator and tapping into the greatness he deposited inside of me.
Now, each day of my new life, I’ve learning more of what that greatness is, how I can use it for the good of others, and marking each day as a gift and living my destiny.
My friend Stacy Robbins is a wonderful writer and blogger. She wrote this about a month ago which inspired me:
With all my heart, I believe that we are living at a fraction of the greatest greatness that is available to us.
We spend so much time telling ourselves how hard it will be to get what we want OR that other ridiculous lie that ‘it’s for someone else.’ Like someone else can have the fame, the health, the relationships, the money, the peace — but not ‘me.’
Such a lie.
We just don’t know how amazing we are and how much we could move forward in life if we would just exercise our authority over our life.
Instead we sit in front of the Tv or Facebook or a pan of brownies and choose distraction rather than the silence that will lead us to the inner restlessness which will eventually stir and awaken our desires.
We settle for the lie because we don’t know the truth.
So do you get it?
My birthday gift, if you choose to give me one, would be for you to realize that inside of you is greatness, no matter what the world says. To stop making excuses to explain away why you aren’t living the life you were meant to. To take hold of your destiny and stand toe-to-toe with your Creator and allow him to embrace you as a son or daughter and allow his love to overwhelm you and break into that crusty heart of yours and finally let life bleed out from it’s center. To embrace the fact that you are somebody that deserves to be heard, and will finally take hold of that dream inside of you and pursue it for all it’s worth.
Will you do that for me? Will you do that for yourself?