Today is my birthday! I have been alive for 23,724 days on this planet. Time has had a way of moving faster than I expected, reminding me that inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the heck happened!
When we’re young, we think there will always be more time. More time to decide, to love, to forgive, to become who we are meant to become.
Then life gets busy.
Young parents are working, caring, rushing, and trying to be patient while feeling exhausted.
Others are building careers, postponing marriage, children, travel, creativity, rest, or deeper relationships because “now” feels too full and “later” feels safer.
Those in midlife are noticing how quickly children grow, friendships change, how dreams need to be revisited, and how much of life has already been spent trying to keep up.
Older adults look back with a tenderness they didn’t expect, realizing that even the hard years held gifts they couldn't see at the time.
Reflecting on time isn’t meant to make us sad. It’s meant to wake us up for an honest look to say, “Everything about this day matters.”
The ordinary morning. The child tugging at your sleeve. The body that carried you through another demanding day. The job that frustrates you but helps provide for your life. The person you love but doesn’t appreciate you. The quiet dream you keep postponing. The breath you just took.
Gratitude doesn’t ask us to pretend life is easy. It doesn’t ask us to erase stress, grief, disappointment, exhaustion, uncertainty, or regret.
It simply asks us to ALSO notice what supports us, teaches us and brings beauty into our lives. We can be tired, ambitious, grieving, unsure, behind schedule, and still be grateful.
That’s the heart behind Alive23724, my new 365-day gratitude journey on Instagram, which starts today. It's an opportunity to shift focus from what's wearing us out to what's sparking our wonder.
Every day, I’ll share a brief reflection from my ordinary life: a person, a memory, a hardship, a simple pleasure, a loss, a lesson, a moment I once rushed past and now see differently.
Not because my life has been perfect, but because it’s precious and I hope it will help you see what's precious in your life too.
I believe all of us, at every age, need reminders to stop waiting for life to be easier before we appreciate it. Life is not somewhere in the future when everything is settled, successful, healed, organized, or certain.
Life is happening right now, in the middle of the unfinished.
So, before we rush into the next thing, let's pause and notice: What have we already been given? And what would come alive if we noticed it today?
If you want to practice living with more gratitude, less regret, and more attention to what matters, I’d love for you to follow along on Instagram at @Alive23724.
Use it as a daily prompt to see your own life with more honesty, gratitude, and wonder.
You can do it. Join here ↓
Jo-Aynne Von Born, Leadership/Executive Coach
www.readysetmore.com
