Reflections at 57

A Moment to Reflect & Celebrate

Today, I turn 57, officially enter my late 50s, and take a step closer to being a grumpy old man yelling at the kids to “get off my lawn.” 😀 🎂

If you’re in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, I’ll say 57 doesn’t feel as old as I thought it would when I was 27. My 50s, at least so far, have been a great decade. It takes so work which I started a couple decades ago, but it was worth it. A good life happens by choice, not by chance. It happens, as Rumi writes, when we welcome all of life’s visitor to our guest house. 

Here are a few observations over the years:

1 – Kindness never goes out of style. Hold the door open, wave when someone lets you merge, smile, say thank you, and when you ask someone how they’re doing, care about their answer. 

2 – The most compassionate thing you can do for yourself, all creatures, your fellow humans, and our planet is to put more plants on your plate and fewer animals.

3 – Nobody does this alone. Remember that someone made those bootstraps you are trying to pull up. Together, we go far.

4 – Corporate training and development initiatives fail because they don’t address the one thing holding us back. 

5 – We are all going through something; give yourself and others grace.

6 – Be more afraid of sleepwalking through life than dying.

7- If mindfulness, compassion, empathy, kindness, and love are “soft skills,” what are the hard ones? Math? PowerPoint? They’re easy. The soft skills are the hardest ones and make all the difference.

8 – Diversity without inclusion is marketing. Inclusion without diversity is a cult. Diversity with inclusion creates belonging. We all want to be heard, seen, and loved. 

9 – I’ve had times when I didn’t love myself and thought it would be easier if I wasn’t around. Things changed when I got comfortable standing naked with all my blemishes and scars in front of the bathroom mirror and saying “I love you” and meaning it. 

10 – All you have is this moment, this breath. Tomorrow is not promised. Wake up. Tell the people around you that you love them. Don’t take life for granted.

Thanks for being here and putting a positive ripple into the world. In case you haven’t heard, the world needs your energy. Keep pedaling! 

Until next week, have fun storming the castle! 

They’re serving applesauce cake tonight. 

Michael

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