Turning 60 changed my perspective on life
I just turned 67, and life is great; busier now than I have ever been and this time it is a good kind of busy.
Turning 60, I did some thinking about where my life had arrived at, and what I was going to do with the years I have left.
Less in front of me than there used to be...
The good thing though is that at this age, after you sift through life, there is that place of “wondering”. The where have I been, what have I done, where am I going to questions.
It’s really a conversation with one self.
Clear as day, when those questions popped up, there was always a clear clarity of thought. Knowing what I really wanted, for me in my twilight to dusk years. My mind raging as if the glass had shattered and freedom came. While I was never a high achiever on the academic scaling, it was never the measurement for me. I set about redefining my level of standards, applied myself diligently, and accepted that lower academic scores would be my range, but a pass was a pass, and in the meantime, learning always continued to teach.
I took myself off to the local Institute of Technology (as I didn’t want to travel too far). Clear as day I knew what I wanted to study, and where… only to find that there was no creative writing course being offered at the local level, while recommending that I look at alternative learning. That's the marvellous thing about being 60-plus, you know your own mind very well. Wairua works in mysterious ways...
A week later an advertisement came out, the same Institute was running creative writing classes! Oh such bliss! Finally! Four years later I graduated, but there was no master’s course on offer. Grrrr.
My mantra became, “Don’t let the grass grow under your feet.” Tick tock clock. On completion of my degree, my focus turned to writing a book. It’s quite amazing things move into place when one makes their intentions clear. I completed my self-published book for my mokos, because at least if I was to kark it, there would be some of my memoirs left behind for my grandchildren. My life, said, my way.
Concentrating on me I delved into painting oils on canvas, looking, looking for the ever elusive mojo while having fun learning about one self in the process.
Finally, my small dream of exhibiting my art came true. Getting over one self was the first step as I took it out of the garage and into the public eye. Currently my art is being displayed at a small gallery in the art deco city of Napier, part of my hometown. In November adding another element to my educational repertoire, that of personal life coach, and how I can share the wisdom and learning of my years into an income.
You become less patient as you realise that time is of the essence. If I have 24 hours in a day, how do I portion it up? Doing the breakdown, told a story in and of itself, as to how much idle time I had squandered and needed focus to make time work for me. Goal setting to achieve through effective time management is important.
I am currently working on my second book to be self-published in June this year. It’s about my view of life itself, and its shaping up to be something that I can be happy with.
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