Clarity of Purpose

So, after a year of pandemics, crazy unprecedented politics like I've never seen before, and life generally becoming seriously unpredictable, I'm within three weeks of hitting a huge birthday milestone! 

Over a year ago, it seemed so effortless to celebrate a big birthday by just booking a cruise and inviting any family/friends who wanted an excuse to get out of Dodge for a few days. How hard could that be? Drive to Charleston, park the car, walk onto a giant floating amusement park with every form of alcohol known to God and man, and forget about the world for four fun-packed nights... Well, apparently God had other plans, because climbing onto a cruise ship at the height of a pandemic is the LAST thing anyone wants to do right now -- despite the lure of adventure and really cheap cruise rates!

So, I'm still going to book that BIG 6-0 celebration for 2022 or 2023 - we'll see how things go - but I can't just let the big day (or year, as the case may be) pass me by completely. You see, my grandmothers passed away early. My mom just celebrated her 83rd birthday, but her mother and my father's mother didn't get that luxury of time. Not that I feel particularly nervous about it - I'm in relatively good health with no major concerns - but I do sense the reality that time doesn't stretch out as endlessly before me as it used to. If I make it to 80, that means I have just 1/3 of the amount of time I've already lived to do some of the things I've been putting off. 

So, after watching Julie & Julia (great movie!), I have decided to spend my 61st year writing about a life plan of experiences or traits I want to do, try, or explore and then developing an action plan to knock off (poor choice of words maybe) as many of those things as I can. 

I'm going to call it my "Clarity of Purpose" project and my goal is NOT to create an exhaustive list of things to see and do, but instead to create a sense of purpose moving forward so I don't waste one second of the last 20 (hopefully) years I have left. Of course, I don't intend to retire anytime soon. Many of my fellow 60-year olds are finding that 70 is the new 60 and that we can (and want to) continue to work until our grey matter no longer allows us to be useful. 

So this isn't going to be a list of things to do, like a traditional bucket list. More appropriately, I think, I want to 1) figure out who I want to be when I grow up (retire), 2) ensure that I can look back on my life with a sense that I left the world a better place, and 3) create a bit of a roadmap for the next 20 years - and use this as my accountability to make sure I do the things I dream up to do. Some things I can start right away, like a fitness plan and building meditation and journaling into everyday routines. Others, like a trip to Europe and that cruise, can be further out on the life plan... as long as everything I do is intentional and aimed at a higher purpose than just day-to-day living. 

Clarity of Purpose - the act of defining your purpose and keeping it directly in your sights regardless of what life throws at you! I think a full year of exploration, planning, and turning ideas into routines will be a great way to celebrate that I've lived through 60 rotations around the sun without skin cancer or succumbing to the ozone. Throw in a little wine and gardening, and you have the makings of a great year!

I will commit to at least two blog posts per week starting on my birthday (more will be fun, but remember I still work a 40-hour week), and I welcome your thoughts and ideas as we meander down this path. This is not "truth or dare," but I welcome any feedback as I take this journey! :)