The Next Level

I’ve almost completed this level in the game we call life and that makes me a pro! There are so many things I’m not good at; marathons, fashion, scuba diving, bull riding, to name a few. But since those are not particularly relevant to my life-style, I don’t find such deficits too distressing. In fact, as I complete more and more levels, I engage in less and less personal angst.

It takes a certain amount of perspective to step away from the pitfalls of vanity and self-doubt. I’ve mostly given up on vanity (what even is the point at this stage?) and even though I’ve always had plenty of self-doubts, I’ve learned through painful experience that somewhere along the line, you just need to let them go. To still be hung up over who’s the best looking or most popular this many years out of high school, probably is an indication there are much more serious issues to deal with.

That’s not to say there isn't lots of stuff to cause discomfort and discontent, but these days, aside from physical aches and pains, such problems are mostly external; like the lack of world peace and the hard times our loved ones have to endure. There are surprisingly few things within our power to change, so we might as well settle back and enjoy what we can. Appreciate the things and people we have in our lives and then try to leave something positive for others to enjoy; some legacy of fond memories or words of wisdom and laughter.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said in A Psalm of Life

"Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul."

So I just wanna do something real and let the dust of others’ expectations and judgements go. It’s great to be at this level of my game!