New Life|

In light of spring and all it's arriving glory, I have decided to share my observations about old life, new life and being alive...

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting a lovely and vivacious older lady named Nell. I met her, interestingly enough, at a bowling alley. Every Tuesday afternoon, a group of twenty to thirty older ladies meet to bowl together.

Today, it was Nell's turn to bowl.She walked slowly, but proudly, towards the bowling line. She drew her hand back and let go of the ball. A quiet moment, and all of a sudden, she was surrounded by echoes of applause and happy cheers. A big, cheeky grin spread across her face. She had gotten a strike. Before she returned to her seat, she slowly and gingerly made her way towards me. She came close, eyes aglow and said, "Do you know why they are cheering?On Saturday I turned 100 years old and they had a big celebration for me." I said to her,smiling, "That is a cause for celebration!"

Nell, the 100 year old bowler, was unaware of her influence on me or what her bravery meant to me. She was not parading around, shouting out that she was alive, hoping people would notice her presence. She was alive, and that was enough.

We can spend our entire lives waiting to be alive, waiting to have that moment of inspiration or finally complete that huge project that we have been itching to do. We condition ourselves to be uninspired, and lifeless while breathing in breath every day, every moment.

Maybe, the issue is not that we are aching to be alive, but rather that life is aching for us.