Looking Out My Back Window #203

Originally posted on Facebook HERE

Another beautiful day in Wisconsin. Gonna be hot and sunny for a while now. Highs in the high 80s – low 90s. You get four pretty distinct seasons in Wisconsin – sometimes all in the same day 🙂 – and in looking back, I think life is kinda like that as well. There are different seasons we go through. Childhood – young adult – hitting our stride – retirement. I don’t know that I’d call “death” a season so much as it’s the grand finale. Each step along the way shapes us. And as we progress through the seasons of life we can help shape the lives of those in seasons before and after us as well. I generally look back pretty fondly on my childhood – which I guess would include all the years prior to turning 18. We shape our views of who we are and what we’re capable of during these formative years. I was good in school, I had a lot of friends. At age 14 I took up playing bass guitar, which I’ve continued ever since. I also started using drugs and alcohol. I had sex for the first time. At age 14. Seems crazy to think about now. But those decisions certainly impacted me tremendously over the years as well. Then there’s what I was calling young adulthood – gaining independence, and trying to figure out what we’re going to do with our lives. Some people are lucky enough to have a clear vision very early. That really wasn’t me – but by the time I was 17 I was good enough to start playing shows with local bands (it was 18 drinking age back then and nobody questioned your age if you were in the band). So music became my main income source, but that also led to drug and alcohol abuse at a pretty high level as well. It was the late 70s and 80s. This period can certainly shape things as well, there can be a lot of uncertainty, insecurity, questioning our decisions… thankfully for me I got treatment in 1988, quit using and have been clean ever since. This decision impacted every second of my life since. Took me a while to get to what I was calling “hitting our stride” above. For me, that was when I got my current job with Edward Jones. I knew the second I got my license that everything I had done my entire life prepared me for doing this job. And that became my career and will be until I retire, which for me is many years away yet. Because I love what I do and I’m going to continue to do it as long as it remains that way. Some people never really get to this point I guess. Just and endless search for meaning. I was 46 when I started my current job. So… the timeframe is different for everyone. I think Louise Hay was 58 when she published her first book and started Hay House publishing company. So, for many of you still looking for that portion of your lives – maybe it’s yet to come. And then retirement. Hopefully. Because death doesn’t wait for us to complete the cycle. It’ll end the story whenever it feels like doing so. I tend to cram a lot into my life right now while I still can. The seasons are different for everyone. You make your own seasons really. But whatever they are, within them the only moment we really have is now. Make sure you’re enjoying the present moments as much as possible. You only get so many of them and we don’t know when they’ll be taken away. If your life seems hectic, great. If it’s kicked back and relaxed, fantastic. Just make it worthwhile and pleasing for yourself. Enjoy every moment of every season, because we really get so few. And help others along the way. Isn’t that just about all we need to know?…