Life is a Journey
Back in March of this year, I wrote a blog and did a show about Taking a Pause. I was rereading that article and I thought it was pretty good. I also thought that there were parts of it where I wanted to go deeper.
Steven Tyler from Aerosmith sings Amazing, which contains the phrase “Life is a Journey, not a Destination.” This song is about hitting bottom, feeling the pain of wrong choices and bad decisions. And how, amazingly, we get past them. I am sure we have all been there at times in our lives.
The chorus of the song says:
“It’s amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It’s amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you’ll be alright
It’s amazing
And I’m sayin’ a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight”Steven Tyler, AMAZING
There is so much in this chorus to unpack that applies to life stages.
I was working in the Northern Virginia area in 2001. I was working with a startup Telecom company and the owner of that company and I, did not agree on several things. As I was in HR and had to represent the company to employees, I found myself letting him know about the things I was concerned about. The day before the planes hit the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, he decided that it was time to let me go. He did not actually tell me himself. He had the President of the company tell me that the next day would be my last day. I was in my office with my staff when the planes hit. Everyone’s world turned upside down.
I found myself adrift for many months after that. I wished I had been able to be more diplomatic in my dealings with the owner of the company. I did not know what I wanted to do. I was having no luck finding meaningful Employment, probably because I was not even sure what that would look like. I really hit bottom after a couple of months and called my son crying and scared about the future.
But like the song says, It was amazing, I finally saw that things would be alright. I took a job as the Center Director at a Sylvan Learning Center, and from there I started my KidzArt business. I found a new light. How does that happen?
Listen to yourself and discover what you need or want in that moment.
This can be tough. When you are feeling depleted or scared or lost or adrift, figuring out what you want or need seems impossible. Those feelings are real. Feel them. And listen to your inner voice. It may be a very faint whisper at first. During this time my inner voice was fighting with my ego.
I was used to making a certain salary. My son suggested that because I loved kids, I should go back to school and become a teacher. WHAT!? No way! I would have to go to school only to make less Money than what I had been making. No way!
And the whisper was saying, “he is right you know, you do love working with kids.” I fought that for many more weeks until I walked myself into a Sylvan Learning Center. I could work with kids and not have to get additional Education. It turned out to be a good solution. No, I was not making the same amount of money. But I loved the kids and the parents and the teachers. I was getting much more fulfillment and the good feeling of helping these kids overcome some of their learning challenges.
What I needed in the moment of hitting bottom, was a listening ear. I needed someone who believed in me, who knew me well enough to share some thoughts and ideas with me. Then what I needed was time to process these ideas and realize that meaning and purpose were more important to me at that time than a bigger salary. Financially it may not have been the best solution. Emotionally it was a very good solution.
What do you dream about?
Do you find that there are times when a dream of what could be next in your life pops into your head and you push it away? Are your limiting beliefs telling you that is a ridiculous idea? Are you concerned that other people would laugh at you if they knew what you were thinking?
These are common thoughts and feelings as we transition to a new stage of life. Many people stay in jobs because they have no idea what they would do if they left the job. Many people leave their jobs and have the feeling of being isolated, disconnected from who they were, and they struggle to find a new identity.
This is the time to get quiet. Listen to your inner thoughts about what you need and want now. Take some time to yourself, with no particular agenda. Just time to be quiet. Do not expect that you will identify what is next right away. For most of us it takes time. Talking to a coach can help. Friends and family are invested in your decisions and how they will impact them. A coach is invested in you.
As you start to identify ideas, or dreams, ask yourself if your dream is what you really want at this stage of your life. What would it bring you? Now Imagine how life might be if what you are dreaming about is possible. You will never know if you don’t try. And even the act of trying is part of the journey of life.
As the song says:
“It’s amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It’s amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you’ll be alrightIt’s amazing
And I’m sayin’ a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight”
That is the beautiful thing about the journey we are on called LIFE.
When we listen to our dreams; When we are willing to go through the struggles, the moment will arrive when you know you will be alright.
And maybe you could be the listening ear for those who are struggling right now. As the last line of this chorus says, there are desperate hearts all around us. Prayers are good. Friendship and listening are good also.
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Originally Published on HeyBoomer.biz
