The biggest lesson of 2011 was this. . .
You have to live in the now.
I know you’ve heard it before, but we all need reminding now and then. You simply can’t wait for a health crisis or any other kind of emergency before pursuing what you want in life.
When my father-in-law died suddenly last January, it was a wake-up call like no other. It lit a fire that caused a ripple effect throughout my life and business. And even though I’d thought this before, in an instant it became more real. . .
There is no someday.
It went from an intellectual concept to a burning desire to wake people up.
That is a lesson I can never forget. Its learning can never be undone. Ever.
Some days I don’t know if I’m up to this calling.
I think, who am I to wake people up?
And then I hear, who am I not to?
Because the alternative – people continuing to live and die with regrets – has become unbearable. And then I read this article, Regrets of the Dying and it confirmed what I already knew, that this lesson I’d been given would impact the rest of my life.
I’m committed to living my life as awake and out loud as possible, and I’m here to help you do that too if that’s what you choose.
Sometimes that gets messy, but I’m good with messy. It goes well with discomfort and growth, my other specialities!
It’s odd to feel grateful to someone who’s died, but that’s how I feel about my father-in-law. In the short time I was privileged to have him in my life, his gifts were many and in death, he was equally generous.
As lessons go, this has been one of the hardest and most profound, but its reverberations are strong and ongoing.
For that, I am grateful.
Over to you:
- What lesson has had the greatest impact on your life this year?
#reverb11 is a prompt driven writing project during the month of December. Its purpose is to inspire reflection and create intention for the coming year.
This post was prompted by Day 3– Learn: What lesson did you learn in 2011 from “The School of Life” rather than a classroom?
I know it may sound strange to some, but messy to me always means “middle of the breakthrough! Keep at it!” I LOVE messy!
So glad you discovered this lesson this year AND shared this with us via WEVerb2011!
Thanks Julie! A tough lesson for sure, but valuable none the less. As a Reverb newbie I appreciate the welcome and comment 🙂
What a great lesson. If everyone could learn things like this from their trials there would be no need for a coach at all would there? Thanks for sharing.
Jason,
That would be the best reason to put me out of a job 😉
Sandi, I had tears in my eyes when I read this post. It was such a tribute to your father-in-law. What a wonderful way to honor his life and his memory — to pursue your purpose and passion for waking us up. “Blessed be the cage rattlers, for they set us free.” (Alan Cohen)
My biggest lesson for 2011 (and I suspect for my life) was/is for me to stop settling for second best. I deserve the best. I’m worthy of the best. I am the best. (Feeling a tad vulnerable right now, like someone’s going to say “Just who the heck do you think you are?!”)
Sandi, would you share with us how to sign up for Reverb11? Thanks. And thanks, as always, for a great post. I think it has sparked a post in me. Gonna go write it now. . . .
Thanks for your words Carol, and I think I might add ‘cage rattler’ to my bio!
You can join Reverb11 at any time via http://reverb11.geekinhard.com/2011/11/list-of-lists.html.
I think cage rattler would be a great (and accurate) addition to your bio. They might as well know what they’re in for, right? 🙂
Such a beautiful tribute. I think about this stuff all the time and have been really struggling lately. I’m really glad I found you through WEverb11. Maybe this is what I was supposed to get out of this experience?!
I’m so glad it made a difference for you. Love connecting with new readers, so feel free to keep in touch.
Thanks for the reminder! Tomorrow is an uncertainty. Even an hour from now is an uncertainty. Now is here, now is present. Thank you again for nudging me into action for today.
It’s ALL uncertain! I think that’s what drives us crazy. Until we get comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty, the madness continues.
It is a constant struggle to remain in the present, but a very worthwhile struggle. There is only Now. The future has yet to exist. The past is now complete. Yet somehow people always live in the future or the past. I just recently was dumped citing “I don’t see a future for us, despite how much I enjoy the present.” NO JOKE. I laughed, and said “you are scared and confused”, and left. Then of course I cried 🙂 Let’s keep reminding each other that although being present is challenging, it has the power to change the world.
I often talk about ‘living into a future’ which is very different from living from the future. Challenge is we’re not taught this anywhere, and so the past and the future keep pulling us in.
Living into a future takes creating a vision and then allowing it to inform our daily actions (in the present). A much more satisfying way to live!