The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Today really is the First Day of the rest of my Life.

Yesterday I was married. Today I am not. After two and a half years of separation, my divorce was granted yesterday.

Today I woke up realising that I can do anything I want to do. I can be anyone I want to be. I have very few constraints. I am leaving one life behind and embarking on a new one. And I’m only taking a few things with me from the old life into the new.

As I reflected this morning on this new life of mine I remembered Mary Oliver’s beautiful poem, The Summer Day.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver

I asked myself what I plan to do with the rest of this one wild and precious life I have been given?

In some ways, I feel a bit like a baby just starting out on life’s journey. Like a baby, I have food, clothing, shelter and love all around me from my family and friends. But unlike a baby, I also have years of experience to draw on. Lessons I can remember as I head out on this new journey. And an inner knowing there are still experiences out there that I want to try and other experiences I never want to do again.

Although I don’t know where my final destination will be on this journey, here’s some of what I plan to do with the rest of my one wild and precious life:

• Stay true to myself and listen to my intuition.
• Surround myself with love – I love who I am these days and am grateful for all of the love that is reflected back to me by my daughters, my family and my wide circle of friends around the world.
• Play more, work less – life is better the more I play. Play is fun; it releases good hormones and makes me feel better.
• Be creative – use my talents to create and express myself.
• Be open and curious – try new things, travel to new places, meet new people.
• Be idle and blessed – just as in the poem, my life is better the more I lay in grass or stroll through fields or watch a grasshopper.

The list is obviously a work in progress, just like me. But I am acutely aware that very few people get a fresh start like this and I want to make the most of it. I didn’t face my fears and change my life for nothing.

Life is too short to spend being miserable every day. I love the life I am living now. And I am committed to believing in myself, to helping others believe in themselves and to living a wholehearted life.

I am so grateful for every person who has crossed my path so far. They have all been life’s teachers and guides who have helped me along the way. Each has been in my life for a reason. And every one of them, even the horrible boss or the nasty teacher, has made my life richer in some way.

My ex-husband has probably helped me more than anyone in this lifetime. He has been part of my life for 24 years, been a friend and lover and is the father to my children. But he isn’t good for the me I am now.  I’ve learned the lessons I needed to with him and it is time for us to move on. I send him love and light for the next part of his journey.

And as far as the next part of MY journey? I can’t wait for my next adventure! I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for me of places to go or things to try. Or even better yet, let me know what you do to make sure you are living your one wild and precious life to the fullest!