I have an interesting thing for you to do when you visit your Facebook today. In addition to being fun, it might be helpful in refocusing some of your lives. I know it was for me.
Today is my Birthday. At 42 years old, Jack La Lanne would say that I am a little over one quarter of the way through my life. He shared with me once that he felt (and had some interesting logic behind it) that the human body should last for 150-160 years, we just abuse it too much to allow it to last that long. That being said, today I took some time to reflect on that thought.
Each day I try to take some time to reflect on where I am and where I am going. I meditate each morning when I wake up and before I go to bed. However, there are several times in the year that causes you to really sit and reflect. Most people use New Years and their Birthday. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, those two days for me are only 11 days apart. So I spend the first week of January each year really organizing my thoughts and spending time planning the next leg of my journey.
Hallmark must be cursing FaceBook, email, and the personal computer in general =)
These wishes came from such a unique collection of people from my life. In addition to the immediate family and few close friends and neighbors I have, there are people my family used to vacation with that I haven't seen for nearly 30 years; people from high school who I haven't seen for 20 years (and might not have called me a friend back then), there are people I have met through my children (other parents, coaches, players parents, etc.) friends I have made through my wife and other family members, there are "fans" from my professional pages, business associates, cousins I see at weddings and funerals, . . . . quite a potpourri of characters.
Seeing that virtual spectrum of people made me think about something that does cross my mind from time to time. When you watch a movie, it is easy to recognize the stars who get the top billing. When you watch a football game, most people (even casual watchers) can name the quarterback and the other "playmakers." We fail to recognize the supporting players, the extras, the walk-ons in the movie of our lives.. . .or in football, the assistant trainers, the special teams players, the guy who fixes the helmets - and even sometimes the offensive linemen (those whose support is integral to the success of the "playmakers").
What I'd like you to do today is go through your FaceBook Friends list. As you go through the list, see if you can remember one nice thing about each person on your list - a nice memory, a fine personality trait, a fun experience you shared - and see how that impacted your life. We study history to learn from the experiences of those who came before us, to make our own journeys easier and our own successes more attainable. We rarely, if ever, study our own history. Take a couple minutes today, instead of going to Farmville, playing Mafia Wars, or playing Bejeweled Blitz, and reflect on the characters in your life - past and present. It might trigger a dream you once had, goals you had forgotten, or ideals you once held close to your hear that life kind of "got in the way of." It might help bring a rebirth to what some call your "authentic self." I did it, and it really left me feeling quite insightful and at peace today.
Today might be YOUR birthday too. Or at least the re-Birthday of some goals dreams and ideals that you had "Once upon a time."
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