Life Is Delicious!

BE BOLDER AS YOU GROW OLDER! Why write all of this? Well, I am actually on this very journey that I am writing about. You may be a little ahead of me or a little behind me, but I would like it if you could walk beside me! It would be my joy and privilege to encourage you, and I would delight in your encouragement of me! So why write this book? I think it is time to take a fresh, bold, new approach to aging! Why? First of all because I am now older myself and realize life can be so much fun and because getting older does not have to be what I thought it would be. In my younger years when I looked at older people, they seemed so tired and so bored with life. They didn’t seem to smile much. I wanted a different older age, and because of that, I have found the opposite to be true for me. I have the energy and joy and clarity of mind that I had in my thirties, fifties, and seventies. I have found aging to be a normal, happy, natural part of life, and it holds as much energy and happiness and joy as all the other stages of life! I discovered it is really a time one can look forward to! Thank goodness, because we all are getting older every day! I have also discovered that it doesn’t take as much energy to be happy and healthy in mind and body as it does to be inactive and sullen for the simple reason that being happy and healthy is the normal, natural intention of life! Let’s see how we got to where we are. If you are past what is called “middle age,” then you grew up in a time when most things in life were clearly defined for you. Yes, each person had a role to learn, and they played it well. A parent. A child. A housewife. A teenager. A doctor. A lawyer. A garbage man. A teacher. A farmer. A student. A grandparent. An old person. Alas! Wait a minute on that last one! What was that role anyway? Was that role one that was weak and helpless and feeble? A role to be recognized but pitied? Poor thing! Was it the role of the person who showed up for holiday meals and fell asleep in a chair? Oh, dear! Whatever the role, it was accepted and played! Until now! No more! Times have changed in the world today! People are not assigned to roles they should play. If you try to put a label on a person today, it would be meaningless. There aren’t traditional roles any more. There are living, breathing, very much alive people. They are without clear definition. Today, people are more concerned with being authentic than being accurate! Younger people have a natural yearning to be in touch with who they are and how they work best and what life means to them. Wonderful changes have happened! Getting older is a fact of life! It is not a role to be played! Part of the journey of an older person today is to find out who they really are under all of those old roles and molds and habits! Who am I if I am not playing any role? What would really bring me love and joy and peace and contentment and fun? What would happen if I broke out of the old mold and set myself free? Since there is only one life to live, and knowing that life is a relatively short time in history, I chose to break out of the old molds and walk out a free person! No role playing! It is a time to let younger people know that life is good, dynamic and rewarding every day of our lives. Let’s celebrate more of life! We are born and created to be original “one of a kind” people. We are born to be our authentic selves, not to impress anyone. We are born with a natural desire to find beauty in each stage of our lives. We are born with the power to create our own reality! We are born to love and be loved and to enjoy the love that surrounds us all the time. We are born to instantly know that love is everywhere to be found. We are born with the ability to think clearly and creatively. We are born with the freedom of choice. We are born with a brain only we control so that we can make choices. We are born to live a life that is happy, healthy and encouraging. We are born to have fun. We are born to be special. It takes guts and courage to step outside of our comfort zones and look at new ways to think and new alternatives for living! This book is not about making anyone better or wiser or stronger than anyone else. It is simply about giving you the option to make yourself the best and most alive person you can be! It is about being more conscious of how things were, how they are now, and how they might be! This book is for the bodacious ones who are open to moving forward into a life with more freedom and energy and joy and laughter and fun! When you feel really good about yourself, you feel really good about others! When you accomplish things In your own life, you encourage others to accomplish things in their lives. Even small changes are great successes! A little boldness goes a long, long way! Every age presents glorious, delightful gifts and treasures yet to be discovered! Why not old age, too? “We are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C. S. Lewis