When you are in your twenties, life seems to be a wrecking ball. By your thirties, you are more self-aware and begin putting what matters most at the center stage of your actions and decisions.
Show up for yourself! Life doesn't have to begin at 40 [Pulse Contributor's Opinion]
Show up for yourself!
I guess that is why they say life begins at forty, because by the fourth floor, you have gone through life’s roller coaster and self-actualization truly begins to take shape.
So, does it mean that in your late stages in life is when you show up in life?
Recently I was reading "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, a prose poem that encourages us to show up in the world because we do not serve the universe by being small.
Rather, we serve it by making the most out of our lives. By confronting our desires, love, grief, commitments so that we find and connect with things, places, people, and experiences that stimulate our minds and soul.
An excerpt from The Invitation reads: "It does not interest me who you know or how you came to be here. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away."
Because sometimes we forget who we know, material things, titles, positions, number of followers do not matter when it comes to the journey of becoming.
Many times, life passes us instead of us living life. Constantly faced with wishes that are silently said, instead of acted. We do not take that trip, chase the dream, make the investment, or even reach out to that love – rather we end up just surviving life with the wrong mindset and attitude.
That is why it is important to ensure you are complete in your daily living, as only you can fill your cup. To fill the cup until it nourishes your mind, body and soul so that you can discover the possibilities, aspirations, and longings.
Once you are full with yourself not of yourself, then I believe, life can begin at any age not just forty.
If you live your life through this lens, your life might not be miserable. When you start seeing things in this light, your life can start to change. The amazing thing about life is when you change, it is going to reflect.
So, free yourself because, "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living," in the words of Nelson Mandela.
Be your own motivation.
The foregoing is an Opinion Article submitted to Pulse Live Kenya for publication as part of the Pulse Contributors initiative.
Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.
Should you wish to submit an Article to Pulse, do so via contributors@pulse.co.ke.
The Author, Linda Okero, is a communications and development enthusiast who has been enhancing socio-economic transformation in Micro-Finance, Government, Business Acceleration and Advocacy space. She is the Coordinator of the UNCTAD Youth Action Hub – Kenya, a YALI Alumni and Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
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