I’M TOO OLD!

Gena Gilcrease
3 min readJan 25, 2022

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We often make excuses for why we aren’t living our greatest life right now.

Like we could never get out of the abyss we’ve fallen into.

It’s along the line of I’m not _______________________ enough. Fill in the blank.

Smart enough — rich enough — talented enough — good enough

Enough already!

None of the excuses are acceptable.

And “I’m too old” is the lamest one of all.

Sure, you’re probably too old to be an Olympic swimmer or a concert pianist.

Boo hoo.

If that’s what you were supposed to do, you’d be doing it.

Because our lives have unfolded according to a plan.

Whatever we did or didn’t do, it’s all part of the plan.

NOT THE EGO’S PLAN

It might not be the ego’s plan.

Because those excuses are the ego in its endless attempt to show/appear/seem in the best light.

And then other people will admire and applaud us.

What a small life is that?

Might there be something that you could do that doesn’t require self-congratulation?

SERVICE

Did I hear an ouch there?

But it doesn’t have to be Mother Teresa or giving out food at a mission.

Or giving money. Or moving to a mountaintop in Tibet.

Service like a tune-up on your car. A tune up on your attitude.

It could be as simple as:

What am I doing today that makes the world a little better?

A day where you’re thinking of others or the world just a little more.

Like making today a plus day rather than a minus day.

BUT I’M SO BUSY!

Not talking about adding more things to your To-do list.

Escaping the rat race. The ho hum day-to-day.

I’m talking about a way of living, with purpose.

Like the story of two office workers in the lunchroom.

As one unwrapped his sandwich, he exclaimed, “Ham! Always the same thing every day!”

His co-worker asked why he didn’t he ask whoever made his lunch for something different.

“Well,” said the first man. “I make my own lunch.”

SHAZAAM!

We do make our own lunch.

We make our own life.

It’s up to decide what we want to do with it.

There’s no one else to blame for what we do or don’t do.

Like going to a fabulous restaurant and asking the waiter to bring whatever he wanted.

No!

In the menu of life, we get to choose.

We might not have the perfect circumstances, but we can always choose our attitude toward life.

Like, whatever happens I know I can handle it.

PURPOSE — another zinger.

Are you just living day to day?

If you want a new lease on life, you can write the terms of the lease.

2 things: what do I love to do? And who do I love?

I was struck by the responses about Bob Saget after his death.

People didn’t talk about his sense of humor or his success.

What everyone talked about was how sweet he was.

How he always told people he loved them.

He would say often “I love you.

Maybe that was the secret of his success.

What a great legacy to leave the world!

How many people do you tell “I love you?”

So your purpose doesn’t have to be some big world-saving thing.

Can be as simple as “today I’m going to be kinder to everyone I meet or talk to.”

“Today I’m going to silently bless all the workers who keep my life going.”

“Today I’m going to shine a light into the darkness of mere being.” (Thanks to Carl Jung.”

So you’re never too old to make a difference in the world.

Never too old to be a plus person.

It’s not over until it’s over.

So, right now, live. In the time of your life, live!

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Gena Gilcrease

Love writing in many forms. Essay writer since winning the Knights of Columbus contest on Texas History at 14. Humor writing. Educational training films. Poetry