Over the past few years I’ve become fond of saying: “I’m on
the return journey”. This expression of
my own mortality often takes people off guard (especially the 50 and over
crowd). Sorry. It’s true.
From the moment we arrive, it’s a return journey. We just choose to forget that inconvenient
little fact.
Why is it important for us to frequently remember that our
existence in this body on this earth is limited? I believe it is so that we can get busy
living on purpose. We might even call
this being conscious of our destiny. For
me, I recently did some very deep work on gaining clarity around my own purpose
and destiny. It’s something that I’ve
been aware of for some time, although it got lost in the hustle-bustle of everyday
life.
In its simplest form, I know that I am here on this earth at
this time to live free and encourage others to live free. The Founding Fathers of the United States of
America had a similar awareness. In
their Declaration of Independence they asserted that “[men and women] are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
From the date that their declaration was made, those men certainly lived
every day as if it were their last.
In the madness that is modern society, it is so easy to get
lost in the “thick of thin things” (Stephen Covey). And, since our death is certain (only the
time of our death is uncertain), I offer
Psalms 23:4 for encouragement: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
