Not Just Another Day, But A New Day!

Today is December 12, 2014...My 50th birthday.    Happy Friday!   Remember Casey Kasem and the top 40 Countdown?  What about Dick Clark and the annual New Years Eve Countdown? Or the countdown waiting for an Apollo mission to get underway?  Ok, with NASA essentially defunct, I really just showed my age!   The past 30 days or so, I have been counting down to the milestone of turning 50.  The intent was not to celebrate me, but to celebrate life...yours and mine.    As I type this, there is a subtle sense that nothing has really changed.  That would make all of this somewhat anticlimactic.  The reality is, that so much has changed.  In the process of time, change seems like a gentle process that reveals an evolution.  That yields a harvest.  A result.   Only in the face of a "before and after" do you see the stark contrast of where you started...and where you are...and a shadowy glimpse of where you are going.

Looking at that little boy, I can't help but wonder if he knew.  He looks wise.    Did he know that I would find and marry the love of my life? That we would have 3 talented and loving children and a beautiful new daughter and granddaughter?  Did he know that I would struggle mightily to find a place in the world and through a series or mistakes and calamities stumble upon a path that would bring provision through passion and purpose.   The smile on his face says yes.  I just wish he could have told me.   I just watched "A Christmas Carol" (I watch every year - the black and white ones are the best!).  Ebenezer Scrooge's journey to his past, present and possible future is one that resonates with me each year, but particularly with this milestone.    I cry each time he is given another chance.  Another day to live, love and contribute.  The one thing the tale confirms and that I know for sure is that each day is precious.    Each day is a new beginning.  Each day is a renewal.  Every day a Birth Day.   "There is also a sense in which every day is to be regarded as the beginning of a new life, in which one can think, act, and live newly, and in a wiser and better spirit." James Allen   So take a few moments to celebrate your new day.  Your life.  I know there are things you would change and some things that have not gone the way you planned.  My life is not perfect either, but with the dawning of each New Day, I am given the awesome privilege to give gratitude for the things that are right and the responsibility to change the things that aren't.   "I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning." J. B. Priestley   Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and special days of celebration are fine, but the key to living a high-quality life is to understand that...    It's Not Just Another Day, But A New Day!   Happy New Day to you and yours...   Until Monday, I wish you Money, Power, Success!