We all get stuck in a rut. But, unfortunately, those ruts can last years. If we are unlucky, they can last decades. It happens.
We get up, go to work, come home, make dinner, do chores, watch tv, go to bed and start all over again the next day. Then, you pepper in weekends, holidays, and vacations, and the next thing you know, ten years have passed.
You have a sprinkling of good days, bad days, and life-defining days. But it’s pretty much the status quo.
With the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about those people who left work that day like it was any other day. I think of how that day changed the trajectory for so many families. Although it didn’t affect me directly, it was the beginning of the loss of any innocence I had left at that point.
I’ve been thinking about the legacy I would leave:
She had good intentions in the kitchen, but she always failed fantastically
She invented spastic behavior
She loved dogs and rubbing their ears to the point of baldness
She had a hard time saying no and setting boundaries
She had no problem embarrassing her children in public (truthfully, it was more just being alive than intentional actions)
She meant well but blundered often
Some of those statements hurt my feelings, but it’s true. The great thing is I can choose to change my legacy at any time.
Here are a few new ambitions for me:
I will spend more time telling my friends and family I love them
I will work to leave the past behind
I will learn to forgive myself and others more
I will laugh more and judge less
I will listen more and talk less
I will share more and take less
I will remind myself and others of their worth more often
People talk about life being short, but it can be pretty long if you are bitter, unsatisfied, and mean-spirited. Who wants extra days if you are miserable?
Nobody knows the number of days we have in this world. But, I do know that we are more satisfied when we have a plan. So what are you going to do with your days?
What are you going to choose to do with your days?