It’s just been too strange.

A year passes, and you feel like you’ve been sitting in one spot the whole time.

You haven’t seen friends hardly at all. You haven’t decided on a last minute spark to try out that new restaurant you’ve heard about. You didn’t start the new year by gathering information on the places you’d like to see this year.

Lots of time to think, which can be good or bad. On the one hand, you don’t want to waste any more time. When this is all over, you tell yourself, you’re going to take that class. Travel to that destination. Tell that person you love them. Or even scarier, clean out the attic.

On the other hand, it’s like an oozing blob of sludge that slowly comes towards you and before you know it, has made contact with you. Now you can’t really feel your body. Sitting on the couch starts to feel right. Not making plans or calling anyone feels safer. Time is flying by and really it’s too late anyway, right?

Why bother to dream if nothing will ever be the same.

It can feel especially daunting for us boomers and beyond. We need to keep learning, moving, dreaming and doing or gravity will get us. It’s just too easy to give over to the slumber of aging. We’ll just be grateful for what we’ve done, and sit here quietly while things get darker around us.

No! No, no, no!

No germ is going to keep me from getting everything I can out of my life! Maybe my dreams have been delayed, maybe this whole thing is frustrating me at the moment and maybe things will take a turn I did not expect. But I refuse to be pulled under a blob of fear and apathy.

A while back on a trip (I actually miss airports), I bought a small book….one of those tiny “gift” books meant to go to someone graduating or starting a new job. It contains quotes from wise people. Often, I don’t give these books much of a glance. But this one…well, it resonated. Because I’m not only frustrated with sitting still, I’m frustrated with where I’m sitting in life.

I want to change it.

I’m already older than many people who do this, and now I’ll have to add on a few more years before I can really take action.

But by damn, I’m going to do it.

I share some of the thoughts in this book with everyone who feels like the four walls they are looking at right now are the only four walls they’ll ever see. Not necessarily. And the crowd of people around you are the only ones you’ll ever have to talk to. Maybe not. And those dreams you have always thought you’d have time for, but lately you’ve wondered….maybe SO.

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” C.S. Lewis

Maybe this whole pandemic has changed how we see “wisdom.” instead of knowing what’s in the textbook, it’s really knowing what it means to be alive…to care about what is happening around us. To really care about what is happening to someone else—especially those who don’t look like us or have as much as we do.

“Your life is always under construction. It is your job to learn how to untangle the threads and weave a tapestry that matches your desires.” Danny Williamsen

We don’t have to settle for what we’ve grown accustomed to. So much time spent getting ahead, mowing the lawn, behaving as expected. We don’t get extra points for “winning” the game. Maybe we’d rather take our chances and turn things upside down a little.

    “If you don’t feel it, flee from it. Go where you are celebrated, not merely tolerated.” Paul F. Davis

    This is your life. Your happiness. Your mental health. I believe the universe wants each of us to be as happy as we can be, which might mean starting over a few times. Scary? Yep. Worth it? You bet.

    “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” Eleanor Roosevelt

    It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

    “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Dare to dream it. Then put it out there. And let the energy propel you forward. Yes, you’re older, and the joints creak a bit and memory is a sometimes thing and staying up late isn’t that exciting anymore. But. You’re also wiser. Stronger. More capable than ever.

    So by all means, put on the mask and get your vaccinations….then get back to life…to your dreams…to what is stirring inside you. Rock the wrinkle!