Crossing FINISH LINES throughout life...

Welcome the FINISH LINES and the START LINES in life!

Perfect timing, getting just what I need when I need continues to leave me in awe.  I am in a huge life transition making choices that are changing the whole of my life.  And what do I find but a piece I wrote 8 years ago reminding me that it really aint over till it's over.  Sure hope it inspires you as much as it did me!

When our time here ends, unfinished business can’t be finished. Our focus shouldn’t be merely on the finish line no matter how exquisite we envision it; our focus should be on the business we tend to in between the start and the finish so we can delight in crossing the actual finish line. 

“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” – Emily Dickinson

After crossing the finish line of the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon, a dear friend shared that it was how he envisioned entering Heaven.  The sky would be perfection.  Every color in the rainbow would paint the landscape.  People of every shape and size; people of every race and gender and creed would be running to the gates smiling as crowds cheered and music played in the background.  There would be people to greet us and welcome us to our new home and congratulate us on a life well-lived.   

In life as well as in races, there will always be finish lines to cross.  Some will appear more grandiose than others but it all matters in the end.  We join groups and they serve their purpose and we move on.  We raise children and they make their lives.  We enjoy friendships and then, we lose contact.  We live in a town and then move away.  We buy a house and make it a home.  We live in a home and then sell it.  We face illnesses and we recover.  We take a job and then we switch jobs.  We spend time with loved ones and we bury loved ones.  We are nurtured by our parents and then we care for them.  We go to school and then we graduate.  We take on projects and we complete them.  We immerse ourselves in a hobby and then we find other interests.  We live and we die.

It is not a race to the finish line.  It is an amazing race until we cross over.  Life isn’t to be figured out and predictable.  When we let go of our need to figure it out, we can settle into a pace that allows us to be amazed.  Every thing we experience, everyone we encounter, every moment, every breath is truly an amazing gift.  This is our one shot at it and there is no turning back to do what we might have done and be who we might have been.

A friend cynically commented that we are all just passing through in response to a discussion regarding the state of the economy and the world.  If he truly felt this way, that saddens me for him but I let him know that I wasn’t just passing through.  Just passing through is just too passive for me.  I intend do whatever I can for others and enjoy all that makes up my journey here on earth.  I intend to leave this world better than it found me.  I intend to leave nothing unfinished.  My husband, John smiled as he threw his arm around me and patted my leg.

John and I have had similar discussions over our years together.  I believed his embrace was one of support and maybe a little pride that I am now able to express my opinion without waging war on those in disagreement.  Several years ago, Eric Clapton wrote a song entitled, “Change the world.”  John kept saying that there was this great song that reminded him of me.  Finally, he bought the CD and played it for me.  The lyrics weren’t traditionally romantic.  They were a soulful message of hope, love and possibilities.  He said that I was the only person he knew who still believed I could change the world.  Tearfully, I thanked him for such a tribute. 

Why would we ever choose to believe that life is anything but magnificent?  Why would we ever choose to believe that we are just passing through?  Life doesn’t wait for us to muster up the courage to live.  Unfinished business can’t be finished. Our focus shouldn’t be merely on the finish line no matter how exquisite we envision it; our focus should be on the business we tend to in between the start and the finish so we can delight in crossing the finish line. 

Meditation:  Are you just passing through or do you appreciate the magnificence of each breath, each moment, each day on this journey?  Do you have unfinished business to tend to?

Action:  Make a list of all the unfinished business in your life (this should be business that enriches your life and the world around you)?  Do one thing today from your list!  Keep the momentum going and challenge yourself to cross the finish line with no unfinished business.