The Journey Begins

 
"We are not an accident--we are the legacy that we leave--the footprints and purpose of a life well-lived."

When you first decide to write a blog, a few thoughts go through your mind. Do I have anything important to say? Will anyone read it? Does it really matter if anyone reads it? What will the format be?

All I know is that I have a few things to say and I can't seem to find the right format for these thoughts. Many things have changed since I turned 40, so many that it is hard to fathom them all. Do I live in the past? Do I live a life of regrets and lost chances? Or do I move forward? Life after 40 is an adventure..but only the adventure that I make it.

I have stopped making predictions about the future and learned to embrace the present. I have learned that every day is a gift. I have learned that I am not a perfect person, but I am not the monster some portray me to be. I am a human pure and simple..with weaknesses, frailties, hopes, dreams, and illusions. I am a Christian, with all that entails. I used to understand exactly what that meant as well, but the perceptions of that life change every day as well.

In short, after 40 I have more questions than answers. But that is alright.

Since turning 40, I have lost weight and gotten in shape, went back to school to pursue my doctorate, and gone through a divorce. I have had humbling experiences and dipped into the lowest parts of my life, but in a sense I have grown stronger. I have learned that I have something to offer the world, and that I am worthy to be loved. The questions continue, and the quest for the person I seek to become. It may sound cliche, but I have learned that life is a journey and not a destination. I will never arrive, and that's alright too. But as Paul said, I "press on", which makes every day another adventure and another footprint in the sand.