Fifty-Three
Today is January 20, 2019.
Yesterday, I turned fifty-three years of age.
Level 53.
It’s been nearly a year since I wrote a blog post. I’ve worked on some stories, however, over the past year and hope to start sharing again soon. I’ve also worked on my business, spent time with friends and family, helped family, played with grandkids, and a whole slew of other things both simple and complex.
I awoke on my birthday with an air of contentedness. At age fifty-three, I still feel physically pretty great, though I could still stand to lose a few pounds and boost my activity level. I had my team at my business surprise me with some birthday celebration festivities. I still have a roof over my head, a loving relationship, and much much more.
I haven’t focused on anything negative over the past couple of days, with a few exceptions, which I won’t repeat here as it serves no purpose.
No, I spent the yesterday and today with a bit of reflection on ‘fifty-three’ and how do I really feel about it all, where I’ve been, and where I’m going.
As with most of my stories and inner dialogue, it all ended by circling back to Star Trek. I ended my birthday by binge watching five of the newest Star Trek series “Discovery” episodes.
As I drifted off to sleep considering what I’d watched, I realized how much it mirrored my own time on this planet.
You see, the new show was called Star Trek, it was based on Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek, and had many elements of Star Trek, but it just isn’t “Star Trek” to me. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s well written, great effects, and good stories, but it’s just not quite… right.
This got me thinking about growing older…ahem… achieving higher levels.
As each year passes, it’s not about ‘getting off my damn lawn’ or even ‘the good ‘ole days.’ It’s about the experiences you had when you’re younger compared to the experiences as you get older.
Remember the first scary movie you watched? The first kiss. The first… anything? Sure, movies are still scary, but much more immersive. A kiss is still thrilling and more, but not like the ‘first.’ And new technology that comes out isn’t so much that it is difficult, it’s just new. Handing a smartphone to a baby boomer who has seen the progression of desk and wall phones, pay phones, cordless phones, cell phones, flip phones, Blackberry’s… all that allowed you to call people… now have a piece of technology that allows calls sure, but also videos, business, banking, conferences, movies, photography, videography, and much more all rolled into one. Heck, it took me a while to use ‘bitmoji’ (which one of my friends says I should NOT be using at my age). You can send people photos, audio, and video of yourself – recorded or live – instead of emojis if you want.
So, as a kid, I would answer the phone, stretch the coiled cord into my room and close the door to talk to my friend or girlfriend for privacy. Now, I get on my smartphone and can take a walk, drive my car, or go into my room and close the door for privacy.
Like the new Star Trek: Discovery show, using the phone is the same, but… different.
Television shows have similar plots, set ups, but much tighter writing, cool effects, humor, realism, and over time… the same, but… different.
Food has many of the favorites, some new flavors, some new packaging, and over time… the same, but… different.
Friends have changed over time based on interests, our paths, and while some have continued over the years, many have come and gone all with personalities, humor, stories, and more that reflect my own life’s path and so a friend I have now may feel… the same, but… different.
I’m not the first person to reach level 53, I get it. I won’t be the last.
But, tonight, on the night of the Super Blood Wolf Moon Total Eclipse, I realize that the days ahead will continue to be filled with wonderful things, terrible things, and all things in between. I know that the old saying, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you decide to react to what happens” is very important and correct. I will continue to celebrate and rejoice in the wonderful things and will choose to respond to the terrible things by simply shouting “Plot Twist!” and move on. And for everything in between? I will react appropriately as I strive to attain level fifty-four in about three-hundred and sixty-three days from now.
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