Hi friends! I have missed you all! So, here is the deal, I am turning 40! Yep, the big 4-0!! That was a lot of exclamation points, so you can clearly tell that forty is a big deal to me! I promise to lay off them for the rest of this post, just know that I am excited. And if you are looking at your calendar and wondering why you don’t see the upcoming celebration documented, don’t worry you have plenty of time before the big day. My birthday isn’t until April, but I have been thinking a lot about the big day. There are moments when time feels like it is flying by and others when it is inching along. Moments when I can’t wait to turn a year older and other moments when I can’t believe that I, me, will actually be 40 in less than a year, like how is it possible?
It reminds me that we each have a finite amount of time on this Earth and that each moment of the journey is unique. Each day, week, month and year only happens once. There is so much that can’t be controlled in life: the passing of time, the weather, the past, other people, natural disasters, death. But there ARE so many more things that can be controlled.
You can control how you spend your time and who you spend it with. You have the power to control the energy you share with the world and how you show up in it each and every day. The gratitude that you have for yourself and for others, the love you give to yourself, the food you put in your body, the books you read and the media that you consume; so many aspects of our daily lives are controllable. Connecting with the breath is one simple way to reconnect yourself with the present moment and be in control. Let’s give it a try right now. Take three deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and feeling the expansiveness of the breath and on the exhale releasing everything fully. Taking two more deep, full breaths...How did it feel? The breath is an incredible thing.
As I am approaching my birthday, I have decided to take charge of how I spend my time and be intentional about the moments that make up my life. Living deliberately is what inspired me to create this list, my 40 before 40. I am not sharing the list here (or at least not yet), but as I complete the items on the list, I will share the journey with you. Some are items that I have always wanted to do, others I just thought would be fun and still others will challenge me to try something new. Several have daily or monthly components and others are one and done.
I have already completed a few items on my list and I will share more on that soon, but first I need your help!! (Yes, the exclamation points are back) I have 38 of the items locked in, but I need your assistance in finalizing the last two! All suggestions are welcome, but for reference, I have no desire to jump out of a plane or dive off a cliff. No desire whatsoever! Leave a comment, send me an email or a DM. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions. Thank you!
I am counting the days until we can celebrate together.
Forty,
Here.
I.
Come!
Here is a throwback from my 39th birthday!