Monday, September 27, 2010

Living life to the fullest

Two weekends ago, I met two different women.

They were both in their 60's. But I met them at different places and different times, one in the morning and the other in the evening. They didn't know each other nor do I think they ever will, but I learned something that day.

The first woman I met began to tell me that soon she would turn another decade. She told me that she had dedicated her life to a job for over 30 years and soon she would retire. I remember her being in awe of how fast time flew for her . She couldn't believe that she had committed to her job for so many years. She never complained but it sort of seemed like she wished she would have done more. She talked about her retirement as if it was going to finally give her life.

Later that evening, I was at another location, and I met the other woman. This woman was completely different from the first one. Although they were probably close in age, she talked about everything she had done. This woman was full of memories! She talked about how she had worked in PR for several years, then her husband and her began to publish the first colored front page newspaper in Texas. She continued to tell me how in her career for many years she continued to grow and learn. She said she would never retire because she loved her job. Then she told me about all the countries she's visited. How she loves to travel and collect antiques from different places. This woman rambled on and on and honestly I was entertained.

I came home telling Gerson about them. I'm not sure what defines "living life to the fullest" but the second lady seemed like she was living life, regardless of her age, she was living it to the fullest.

It really got me thinking about my life. I too want to live life to it's fullest. I don't want to think back and see that I did nothing but commit 30 years to Corporate America. I love my job and enjoy working, but I want to make time for other things. I love new experiences. I actually keep a journal of simply memories. When I remember a memory, I write it down, cause I don't want to forget them.

Making dreams reality is not always easy, but I feel so good when one of my dreams come true. Or when I experience something like never before.

Last summer Gerson and I visit the Dalmatian Coast. Our last stop was HVAR Island. And through out all of the cities we visit we had wanted to kayak, but all the excursions were extremely expensive. So at Hvar, there was a beach by our apartment, and this guy was renting the kayak for 30 Kunas which is basically $5. So we decided to rent one and kayak! We had never kayaked and maybe this was stupid and dangerous, but Gerson and I took off. We kayaked several miles from shore, and eventually we couldn't even see the shore! The water was crystal clear, and it was such a beautiful experience. We just talked and talked sitting in our kayak in the middle of the ocean and felt very blessed to have the opportunity to travel to Croatia, and experience such things.

I want to continue building memories as those. I want to do things that I've never done before. I want to serve and help others without expecting anything in return. I want to travel the world and embrace other cultures. I want to work and learn from my workplace. I want to be open to learning new things. And I want to live life to the fullest ... whatever that means! :)

3 comments:

Yvonne Munoz said...

Adri.. I love this one!

Its so God that I come to your blog at this very secod in life. You have no idea how much this has blessed me =)

love ya! Keep Blogging!

Adri said...

Yvonne, I'm so glad this blog blessed you! ... I will definitely keep blogging. ;)

Maria Pena said...

Adri, I think so far I've lived life to its fullest. Of course, I hope and aim for so many more things to do,to see, to share, to give, and definitely to live. I guess I should use one of grandma Flora's sayings, "Solo le pido a Dios vida", para asi poder continuar viviendo la vida a lo maximo!!
Te amo,
Mami