Dad and Son
Dear Friend,
Yesterday, I spent a good part of the day with my dad.
My dad will be 78 years old next month. He is becoming more aware of his mortality. He talks a lot about his estate and getting things straight before he dies.
As his son, that stuff is hard to hear. But I am also set to be his executor, so I have to be a part of it.
My dad has always been a practical man, who likes to tie up loose ends. I think that doing so gives him a sense of peace. I believe this because I am the same way.
What I wanted to write about today was not all of that. It wasn’t what we talked about or what we did. What struck me yesterday was how I behaved.
No, I wasn’t inappropriate or anything. Nothing like that. It was just that I hung around. For a long time. I didn’t feel the need to get back to my work or whatever.
I had no other plans yesterday. My dad had asked me long ago to come by and help him load some stuff in his truck, as he and my mom were heading off this morning on their annual pilgrimage to Florida.
But yesterday, something was different.
I didn’t feel rushed. There really was no other place that I needed to be more at that moment. And, for a lot of reasons, I knew that I was at the right place for me.
That was a very new feeling for me. It was really a lack of anxiety. A lack of being pulled, or tugged, in some other direction in which I had to go whether I wanted to or not.
This was one day after my family had declared official independence from the shackles of a conventional life and set ourselves adrift on a new journey that is, I believe, the real meaning of life.
And this was one of the first, tangible results of this decision. Life is no longer about doing what I have to do, but rather about doing what really means the most to me.
I talk about this stuff all the time. You know that. 😉 But this was one of the first times that I felt it before I thought it.
And I’m telling you now, this kind of freedom feels wonderful.
Trust me, do whatever you have to do, but dump you old life if it is controlling you. You deserve so much better.
Discover the peace and the quiet power of living your life on your terms, and at your own pace. And of doing what really matters with your life.
Once you experience this, your life will never be the same.
All the best,
Hugh
