The post above comes to us from the Modern Daily Knitting blog, one of my favorite sites for inspiration. I hope you enjoy it.
It isn't usual for me to post two recommendations in succession, but this one hit me solidly last night and I wanted to share it with you.
The idea that we can break out of our shells, that we can allow our creativity to flourish, let our freak flag fly, is one that we all need to internalize.
It's a lesson I truly believe becomes clearer and stronger with each passing year. By retirement age we have, with any luck, learned to care less and less about what other people think. We carry fewer limitations imposed from the outside.
We have made peace with who we really are, and what we really want. (The literal translation of the above link is, "What do you really want?")
If we haven't learned to let go of other people's expectations - even those of people we love - we may at least be aware that we are not living exactly the way we want to. We may not even know why we are dissatisfied with our lives; we just know that something is "off" and we want it to change.
If that is you - if something is off in your life and you don't know what it is - start by asking yourself what you want, and what is keeping you from getting it. Are you following your own desires, or are you still trying to live the life someone else thinks you should?
Let me give you an example of someone living by their own desires:
A dear friend of mine was widowed about 10 years ago. She had spent the previous several years caring for her husband of nearly 50 years as his health declined. Then she spent another few years caring for the dog he left behind.
She was following the script that was laid down for her as a widow devoted to the memory of her husband.
After the dog crossed the rainbow bridge, she wanted to travel. She had traveled with her husband before his health failed, but she still wanted to travel, and she wanted to travel alone. She didn't need a companion, or a minder. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and she was in excellent shape. There was no practical reason she couldn't go wherever she wanted.
Her children were horrified. How could she go traipsing around the world ALONE?
As it turns out, she could go traipsing around the world alone just fine. But in order to do so she had to defy the wishes of her children, their concern for her, their insistence that she should stay home and stay safe.
P.S. She eventually found another traveling companion. Now in their 90s, they have visited most of the continents (I think they've missed Antarctica) and enjoyed their adventures - and they're still going!
So what do YOU really want?
Answer that question, then go out and find it!
And don't let anyone tell you it's too late!