I remember my Mum asking me what I thought we were all here for.
That was a pretty heavy question over cornflakes, so I am sure I spluttered out some rubbish.
But she didn’t.
As I wrote here, Mum had a clear point of view on what she thought it was.
Now I am a father, I think she was right [as usual] however I recently read a comment in a newspaper [yes, just like I did earlier in the week] that I think expresses a wonderful way to approach life.
Before I get to it, I should point out the persons comment was in relation to an article about divorce, however even though the bit that grabbed me was only 12 words long, the overall comment is pretty good.
Here it is …
So the bit I loved was when they said this:
We are all passing through and wondering what it’s all about.
I love that.
I love that it frees you to make mistakes … try things … explore and experiment.
The reason I am writing this post is because I just freak out how many people I know pretend they’ve got it together.
Well, some of them are not pretending – they really think they have – but life isn’t linear and while some are born into a lifestyle that affords them greater control than the rest of us, the majority are all wandering and wondering.
When I lived in Australia I lived with a fantastic housemate.
She was Canadian and worked for a tech company.
She got paid A FORTUNE … and I remember her telling me her plan.
She was going to stay in her role for 2 years, get promoted to a very specific job and then do that for a about 3 years and then either get transferred back to Canada in a senior leadership role or get headhunted for one of 3 other companies that she was prepared to work for.
I must admit at the time, I was both impressed and intimidated.
Impressed that someone could have their shit so together.
Initiated because I didn’t and never have.
[FYI, her plan didn’t end up working out. Well, it did, but in a totally different way]
As I’ve written before, my parents always wanted me to live a fulfilled, rather than contented life, and as part of that they have always encouraged me to follow what excites and intrigues me. That didn’t mean they would be OK with my flitting from thing-to-thing, however if there was something that I truly loved and I committed to it, they’d be fully behind me, even if it meant I’d never be that lawyer/doctor/orchestral musician they’d of loved me to be. Ha.
While there’s been the odd bit of stupidity, I’ve tried to follow that approach and want to continue doing it even though the needs of my beautiful son now become a driving factor in our decisions … but contrary to what many may think, there is no plan and there has never has been a plan … and while I accept I’ve been very fortunate in so much I’ve done, those 12 words finally let me feel I’m not an idiot for choosing this path and I hope it helps the countless other people I know who are going through life looking without really knowing what they’re looking for, other than to feel that they have lived and that they have mattered – whether that’s to many or to just one.
Have a great weekend.