The Tides of Life

   I was thinking about what I needed to purge today, as that is one of the reasons I do this and came to a conclusion that I am hoping will help me recover. I am over 50 years old, that much we know from the title, and I am starting over at a time when I was certain the rest of my life was mapped out pretty well. Someone once told me the best way to make God laugh was to tell him your plans. He must be in stitches right now. No charge Big Guy, this one’s on me. Now I am certain that the only thing certain in life is change, which brings me to the conclusion I reached today.

    We start over every day. Each day we wake up is a fresh beginning. Yesterday’s foibles, gaffs and mistakes are done and cannot be changed. The victories won, battles fought and adulation received are now history. Each day we have to get up and go to it again, trying our best, hoping for the best and sometimes expecting the worse only to realize as we lie down for sleep that night that we made it. We successfully navigated another treacherous day filled with all kinds of danger. Some people wake up one day with the expectation of going home that night and never make it.

    I still start each day with despair and worry and concern for the future only to return home that evening safe and sound with a roof over my head, food in the cupboard and friends and family that still love me. None of the bad things I was expecting happened and I am still alive. Tomorrow brings the promise of a fresh start, the promise of starting over and trying harder. Breathe in, breathe out, sometimes it is that simple. Get up get dressed and put one foot in front of the other and you’ll be surprised out how well things turn out. Do what you know is right and good and I know for certain that you will prevail.

   From now on when I wake up and the despair and pain start I will try to remember to just breathe in, breathe out and put one foot in front of the other. Do what is right and good all day and hope for the best. I will know in my heart that there are some things I cannot control. The ebb and flow of the tides of life are as out of my control as the ebb and flow of the tides in the smallest sea. I just have to drift along with the tide, keep my head above water and breathe in and breathe out as I start over, over 50.