Tonight, as I write this, the sun is setting on my twenties. The third decade of my life comes to a chronological end at midnight. I happened to be born in the first year of a new decade (1980), so my twenties coincided with the 2000′s. It’s fun to reflect on milestones of life, and I’d like to share some of mine from this past decade.
When I turned 20… I wondered if I would ever bench press 200 pounds.
When I turned 30… I wondered if I would ever weigh less than 200 pounds again.
When I turned 20… I was sure that Friends was the best show on TV.
When I turned 30… I was sure that LOST was the best show on TV… ever!
When I turned 20… I was sure that my closest college friends would remain my best friends for life.
When I turned 30… I still believed that, and finally stopped pining for a time machine to go back to those good ol’ days.
When I turned 20… I was positive that I would be a Christian minister for the rest of my life.
When I turned 30… I sat back and counted eight different full time jobs within several different career paths over the past decade.
When I turned 20… I marveled at the spiritual themes in The Matrix
When I turned 30… I play a sort of pin the tail on the donkey with everything, and God is there… every time.
When I turned 20… I wondered what there was left in life to learn, because I had figured out so much already.
When I turned 30… I appreciated each new day as an opportunity to learn something new.
When I turned 20… I knew the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
When I turned 30… I spent many months without her, and I still knew that she was the woman for me.
When I turned 20… I dreamed about how I could change the world.
When I turned 30… I reflected on how much the world had changed me.
When I turned 20… I believed that Phoenix, AZ was the best place in the world to live.
When I turned 30… I still believed that Phoenix, AZ was the best place in the world to live, but that an amazing life is possible anywhere.
30 has always seemed like a magical year for me. Jesus got his show on the road around this age. Siddhartha began his path towardsenlightenment after 29 years on the earth. My mother was 30 years old when she gave birth to me. So there are various reasons as to why this birthday is significant for me.
I don’t want to fall into a trap of feeling like I have “arrived”, but I’m looking forward to some geographical, financial, and vocational stability in my life for a change. Time will tell if that is what my thirties have in store for me. I’m finally ready to start them… tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to go kiss my kids goodnight and know that if it all ended, I would still count myself as blessed.
Namaste.
