A friend of mine has a challenge: He and his wife have custody of a very young grandson. He thought he was going to retire. His wife would work and he'd get 'payback' for the years he'd worked while she had stayed home and raised their children. Now, they have the day-to-day care of this grandchild. As comedian Dennis Miller is fond of saying, "Life is what happens while you are making other plans."
Is there an upside to this? Sure, if you take advantage of it.
I used to tell my friends that when I reached my present age that I was going to collect Social Security, settle down and raise a family. We'd all have a laugh and then I'd explain my rationale: As you go through life you can become cynical, jaded, or at least disappointed at some of what you see. But, to a child, every day is new, fresh, full of wonder and discovery. Seeing the world through a child's eyes can bring back the sense of adventure one may have lost. It can get you out of a 'rut', move you out of a comfort zone, open up new possibilities.
Maybe a lot of people should try on a set of new eyes. How many twenty-somethings have already given up on life because they've been told, "you'll never be able to 'do that', 'go there', 'be what you want to be'"?
How many of us are stuck in a job, a marriage, a place we really don't want to live; all because it's gotten comfortable or we're afraid of the unknown?
Close your eyes, dream a BIG dream, imagine things you never considered before - then open your eyes and see the world as never before. Little children do it, so can you.
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