Never too old to begin
Jeff snapped this photo of me at Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California, February 2004.
“You’re never too old to begin a journey, if you don’t insist on completing it.”
— Ashleigh Brilliant
No matter what age, nobody has any guarantees of success or even survival when they embark on a journey. If physical or financial limitations do not stand in your way, why should chronological age? Besides, one destination tends to lead to another, so that reaching the end of the journey — at least in this life — may not even be the ultimate goal, especially if we believe our soul’s destination lies beyond this earth.
Whether you are younger or older than I am, you probably have come to a point in life where you felt it was “too late” for a specific goal. But maybe that goal, or a similar one, or a different but equally appealing one, might still be within reach. I believe it’s never too late to grow and change. Some of the liveliest people I’ve ever known (including Ashleigh Brilliant, who is quoted above) continue to explore life with great interest well into their seventies, eighties and beyond.
If we are blessed with long lives, I hope that Jeff and I will be among them. And I hope you will be, too!
One year ago today
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: aging, attitude, destinations, discovery, exploration, happiness, journeys, life, longevity, opportunities, seniors, youth
Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia!
One quote that has always remained with me states that we all need a goal large enough that it can’t be fulfilled in one lifetime. While this sounds great, and noble to me, I’ve not really found mine, despite being aware of this concept since my twenties. I think I need to follow yours and Brilliant’s advice, and get started on some journey, even if it doesn’t appear to at first be moving me toward that more lofty goal.
Susan, I’m not sure I agree with that quote, unless it is referring to the dedication we should feel toward goals that create improvement and change in the world at large. Otherwise, when you think about it, it’s a recipe for failure and frustration– or an excuse to slack off and not do much. There are many similar quotes about how the reach should exceed the grasp, and I do think we should set the bar high. But I find it more valuable to think in terms of smaller objectives that are attainable, and are geared toward fulfillment of a goal that is too hard or complicated for one person to reach all alone.
Very good points, Julia. Hopefully our huge or lofty goals can have some incremental successes that we can enjoy and acknowledge, helpline to keep us motivated along the way. I don’t mind frequent celebrations. 😃
Yes, I’m for daily celebrations! Maybe even hourly 5-minute celebrations!