Vol. 16 No. 09 | March 4, 2013
The week leading up to and including my 60th birthday was filled with sharing memories, eating my favorite foods, receiving cards, gifts, and messages from friends and family, and some times of deep reflection on where I have been and where I am going. The time has been well spent and the good wishes have been appreciated. (By the way, it was March 1 for those who need to know and forgot to send a gift. It is not too late. I am still accepting.)
One question that has been asked numerous times is: “Well, how does it feel to be 60?” My typical answer has been: “A lot like 59.” Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in reality it is no different. And yet it is. Six decades. Sounds like a long time, seems like a long time, yet it also seems very brief. As one Facebook friend stated, “It seems like I just wished you a happy birthday.”
Part of the reason this birthday seems different is that in my mind 60 years implies some level of wisdom. From my perspective I have always looked at men and women who were 60 and above with at least some degree of respect. My reasoning being if they have lived this long they surely have learned something, so I can learn something from them. Obviously that is not always true. Some appear to have lived their sixty-plus years and managed to bypass the accumulation of wisdom.
So, as the day approached and passed I continued to look for that wisdom that I could pass along to those coming behind me (and maybe even some of those who are ahead of me), that would make their journey easier and more enjoyable.
The insight came during a commercial break of a recorded program of the one called the greatest golfer of all time, and is narrated by another of golf’s greatest. You can see the commercial by going to this link: Swing Your Swing.
Swing your swing. That is it. Arnold Palmer and Dick’s Sporting Goods said it well.
Swing your swing. Live your life. Live the life you have been given. Not the life you wish you had. Or the life you think you should live. Live the life you have been given.
Use your talents. Do what you were created to do.
Long before the commercial, the company, golf and any of the great golfers, God used his servant Paul to live the message of being who you were created to be, then offer these instructions on how to function well within the body:
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.(1 Corinthians 12:18, NIV)Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV)
So, my bit of wisdom to you is this: Swing your swing. Be you. God created you to be you. Learn from other people. Glean from the experience and wisdom of those who have gone before you. But be you.
If you are a teacher, teach the way you teach. If you are a singer, sing with your voice and your music. If you are an athlete, play your game your way. If you are a preacher, preach the message God is giving you and share the message the way God has equipped you to share it.
Although God has placed, and will place, very gifted and talented people in your life and along your path do not try to be them. Some of those you respected may even try to push you into their mold, or shape you into someone they admire and respect. Resist the pressure. Swing your swing. Play your way. Live your life. Use your talents. Develop your gifts. Follow God your way. Swing your swing.
Tom
© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.