I used to admire people who knew how to hustle (yes, both the dance and the driven work-ethic type!). Ya know, the “early bird gets the worm” types? Dale Carnegie quoting, biz card distributing, wink wink “let’s do lunch” types? Then I became a Mother. And 50. And the world is suddenly full of hatred, violence and guns.
The world is different than it was 25 years ago and so are my ideas about success. I still admire hard working, driven people with big dreams. On negative days, I believe that greed and selfishness have led to unimaginable and irreparable harm to our planet and the people who depend on others to look out for them to survive. On positive days, I am filled with hope and ambition and willingness to love every inch of this world to death.
As I evaluate my life’s potential at 50, I have decided I want to do as much loving,helping and giving as I can until I take my last breath. But not in a preachy, annoying, “uber Lib” kind of way (as my darling right-leaning friends would describe it). Here is my short list of things I want to do to change the world in the little time I have left:
- Learn as much as possible about the brain’s ability to change itself to achieve a personal sense of purpose, goodness and peace – then share that knowledge;
- Work to help children understand their inner power to change themselves and their circumstances through simple techniques like mindfulness;
- Listen to the life stories of all kinds of amazing people and document those memories for families and uplift the realm of personal history for children;
- Marinate the world in love.
My mind works in strange ways, and it was actually this dutiful and loving Momma Goose who interrupted traffic on my commute home the other day who got me thinking about mindfulness. For one brief moment, everybody’s “hustle” halted to ensure the safety of her goslings crossing behind her on the highway. Like the Momma Goose, I want to help the world understand our innate abilities to pull the trigger on mindfulness instead of guns and violence.
In conclusion, I share with you a personal story shared by the Sandy Hook Promise organization. Whatever it takes, for however long, taking time to help children understand that guns are not the answer is a worthwhile use of my time:
Senator Chris Murphy Ends 15-Hour Filibuster With Moving Tribute to Two Sandy Hook Victims
