Good morning Inspiring Girls! I came across a little gem a few minutes ago and wanted to share it with you. It seems especially poignant for me on this beautiful desert morning as I contemplate how the next chapter in my life will unfold (and what I will do to turn the pages). Several thoughts touched me but three struck me pretty intensely:
Cultivate a generous heart. -Barbara Robinson, 71
Keep growing, no matter what. -Michael Herman, Sr. 66
Spend more time with your children…they will remember time spent and wisdom shared, not so much the items you provided. -Keith Haines, 62
I love these ideas on so many levels, and if asked to add a bit of my own insight to these inspiring reflections, it would be that sharing our time, ideas, skills and life experience are also powerful ways to invest in our world.
It is worth taking a moment to read their full (short) quotes in the article What Retirees Wish They’d Done Differently.
I am inspired to ask the retired people in my life (a population that is growing now that I live near one of the country's most popular retirement communities!), what advice they would offer to those of us who have a chance – right now – to do it differently.
And I encourage you to ask yourself and share in a comment here: when you are retired, what do you not want to say you wish you would have done differently?
I hope at least one of these gems inspires you to take another step forward in your own journey to cultivate your most inspired life!
Although I'm at the opposite end of my career from retiring - just about to graduate college and "start" my career as a professional - I like to think that I started my career several years ago in junior high when I first realized my passion for art and the way it can bring value to so many individual's lives. Since then - maybe 8 or 10 years ago - I have gone through several periods of "career development" where I forgot that passion, only to be reminded of its importance again and again. Although my view of art and it's place in life has changed dramatically from my perspective as a junior high school student my passion for it's importance is one thing that I hope I will never forget for long.
ReplyDeleteStrangely, my passion for art has led me down a path as a business student about to start a career as a CPA, but art continues to inspire and direct everything I do and my work as a CPA will one day enable me to manage and administer art in a way that never would have been possible with only a music degree.
In broader terms, I guess this means that I hope we never forget why we do what we do. Value doesn't come from money or position, it comes from enriching the space around us and creating a stronger spark in others than we have in ourselves. Inspiring those around us with a vision that complements and enhances the vision of others. A lofty goal I suppose, but I think we can all do this if we can all reach retirement without forgetting why we do what we do.
Matthew, thank you for sharing your thoughts! And kudos to you for so eloquently stating the value of collaboration and inspiration in our lives. The beauty is that we benefit whether we are the giver or the receiver of shared passions for without others to help drive our ideas forward, motivate us to dig deeper and create the space in which we wish to live, life would be a boring evolution to say the least. What you propose is an absolutely lofty goal, but honestly, what happens if we don't try, every day, to remember why we do what we do, making adjustments as necessary and looking for ways to spark imagination in ourselves and others? I believe we lose more than we can possibly imagine.
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