Just celebrated my 48th birthday a few days ago. Forty-eight sure seems a lot younger than I thought it was when I was 20; I am not the geezer I imagined I would be by now. In fact I think I am way cooler now than I was back then. I am also better looking than I was back then, despite the MANY extra pounds and scads of wrinkles, sags and lumpy places.
You want to know my secret?
It's really quite simple. My secret is that I don't care what others think about me anymore. Well, I do, but not to the degree that used to drive me crazy. Somehow, not worrying about what others think about my looks, my opinions and my past offenses has given me incredible freedom in becoming who I was meant to be all along.
I have to laugh at myself here, because one of the reasons I have come to this place is because of a pearl of wisdom shared with me years ago...it's just that it makes more sense as I get older.
It is also quite simple. Other people don't think about me nearly as much as I thought they did! Nobody really cares if I go out without makeup or I have panty lines or if I said the "wrong" thing or if my laugh is obnoxious or if my car isn't cool or if I had a terrible reputation 30 years ago. The best part of this revelation is that, if there are people who do care about that stuff, I actually don't care what they think anyway. WOOO HOOO! Talk about some serious freedom!
And, as a result of all this newfound freedom, my hair is long and pretty, my skin is clearing up, I love laughing my butt off, and I just don't really care about panty lines anyway. And my heart is free to think about what is really important - being of good use to my family and my Father, who has considered me beautiful all along.
