Reflecting Today

ilovephoto.info

Today's post is a little heavy, no fashion or interior design here. This past weekend was one of those weekends where I reflected on my life these past 26 years. I discovered my new favorite chick lit author, Sarah Pekkanan, and can't get enough of her books. I'm on her latest novel, These Girls, and have already sped through Skipping A Beat and just finished The Opposite of Me on Saturday. What I love about her writing is each of the main characters in her books are going through life altering events and discovering who they really are. There was an excerpt in The Opposite of Me that I fell in love with, especially as the time comes when you wonder if you should take the next step in a marriage:

"I think we're all constantly reinventing ourselves. First we change from babies into little kids, and then teenagers, which are a whole separate species that probably belong in a zoo. We barely have a chance to try out being young adults before there's pressure on us to find a partner and a new identity as a couple, and then most of us turn into parents. The next thing you know time is moving faster and faster and middle age is upon us. Those of us who have kids are dropping them off at college, and the rest of us are looking at strangers in the mirror with crow's feet and gray hair, and wondering how we've managed to morph overnight into our parents. But I think if we don't fight it too hard - if we don't cling to the person we used to be and instead let go of the paralyzing fear and turn into who we're meant to be next - it's easier."

Problem is how do you define the timing of who you're meant to be next? Age? Money? Success? I think it's ultimately a feeling you yourself have. It doesn't do any good comparing yourselves to others at your age and wondering if you're making or have made the right decision. Each of us are on our own paths. We shouldn't criticize ourselves or others for not being on that same path. And honestly, the grass is always greener on the other side.

There was another section where the main character was reflecting on her life:

"How did you know which life was the right one for you when there were so many to choose from? How did you know if you were in the right place, or whether there was somewhere else entirely you were supposed to be?"

I can resonate with her when it comes to my career. I never thought I'd be a real estate agent working with my husband. I have always had the dream to open my own boutique. And I think it will come someday, when the timing is right. However, if I never got into real estate or building homes, I may have never discovered my love for interior design. Or ensured opening a boutique is really what I'm meant to do.

I don't think we're giving ourselves enough credit in life. The decisions we made were for a reason, maybe reasons we don't fully understand at the moment or ever will. But in some greater universe, there was a reason. You're only given one life in this world. I say live it for yourself and only yourself and be happy with the decisions you have already made. Because that's all we really can do, no?