Celebrate With Me

May 30, 2019 / 70 Comments
This is not a sponsored post.

Today is my birthday. I am 45 years old. I feel younger than I did when I was 25. I feel healthier physically and mentally. I feel ready to accept and conquer any challenges that come my way. I feel better equipped to deal with all the ups and downs of life. I feel blessed to be alive and more willing than ever to embrace every single moment that I am given as an opportunity to live this life to the fullest.

At 25, I took life for granted. I made plans for the future never realizing that the future doesn’t ever pan out as planned. I wasted too much time on stress and worry and trying to impress others. And then when I realized that stress and worries and trying to impress others was fruitless, I allowed the pendulum to swing to the other extreme and I lived my life with reckless abandon. Not respecting or cherishing how precious it really is. Running around like a crazed lunatic, making dangerous decisions that could have had tragic consequences.

At 45, I am more grateful than ever that my terrible decisions did not, in fact, have tragic consequences. Instead, they somehow brought me here…to 45…and granted me wisdom that I thought only the oldest and wisest sages of mythology possessed. And now I don’t take anything for granted, especially life or the people in it. And I don’t waste as much time any more trying to plan for a future that never comes. Instead, I live. I live in the moment. I live authentically. I live genuinely. I live loudly. I live boldly. And I live without shame or apology.

I am a work in progress. Always introspective. Always seeking self improvement, more knowledge, better ways to live a better life, to be a better person, to contribute to the world in a positive way. And I am discovering that the best way to have a positive impact on the world around me is to be real and true and kind and loving. What you see is what you get, but never assume that I won’t change my mind, my opinion, my beliefs, or my priorities in the blink of eye. Because when I blinked my eye, I realized half a lifetime has already passed. And I will never sit comfortably in the assumption that I am stuck in a place that does not fulfill me completely.

Lately, I have been taking chances. Lots of chances. Without reservation or fear. Because if I don’t take the chances, I may lose the opportunities. And missing opportunities only leads to regrets. I don’t like regrets. I don’t want to go through the next 45 years thinking of all the things I should have done. I want to just do them. Do them now. While I have my mental and physical health in tact enough to enjoy them.

Some people may think I am selfish. Some may just think I am bat shit crazy. But really all I am is happily grabbing hold of every moment that I can enjoy while I am here….before it is too late. And too late can sneak up on us really quickly. So before too late gets here, I am embracing it all. The fun, the happy, the crazy, the silly, the insanely out of this world opportunities.

Soon I will share some of my more exciting adventures with you. I have been a bit reserved in revealing too much…because, well, fear, she is an ugly beast. She prevents us all from doing so many things. But I have gradually been pushing her out of my way. She is beginning to fade into the background. Eventually, fear just becomes the quiet voice of caution. And I will heed that voice when necessary. But sometimes I may just ignore it completely and do all the crazy things. Reminding myself along the way that all greatness is always at first perceived as crazy.

Today is my birthday. And what I would love the very most is for you all to do something crazy today. Do that one thing that you have always wanted to do but have been too afraid to go for it. Take the chance. Seize the opportunity. The more ridiculous the thing seems, the more reason you should do it. Don’t blink your eyes and realize half your life has passed already. Open your eyes wide and see what is directly in front of you right now. And grab it. Before it disappears. Or before you disappear. Life is ever so short. Live it. Right now.

Celebrating on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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