60@60? Sure, Why Not?

I just read my friend Patti Digh's January 1 post on 37 Days. It made me tired just to read it! She's made a list of 50 things she wants to "learn" this year, the year she turns 50, and suggests that we all do something similar: 20 things if you're 20 or 35 things if you're 35, whatever is appropriate for your age. She's calling it 50 at 50. All I have to say is, "Atta girl, Patti!"

As for me, I will turn 62 the day after Patti turns 50 and this is the year I intend to smile contentedly while I sit back and watch the "youngsters" do their thing. There is nothing else I need to learn.

Do I detect a raised eyebrow? A quiet, "Oh, really?" Okay, I'll admit that I have a long way to go before I can claim that I practice everything I've learned. And to be fair to Patti, her list includes many, many things that she has already learned but wants to master, same as me (#20: Learn to speak my truth).

Of course, I have a list, too, as I'm sure you do. It's a new year; how can you not have a list? Come on, admit it, you have a list. It's about the things you want to do differently in 2009, isn't it? There are the old standbys: lose weight, stop smoking, learn Spanish...Mine is all about living intentionally. It's a very short list:

1. Live every moment as if it were the end, not just the means.
2. Love everyone and show it by smiling when you see them.
3. Be grateful.

From 1984-1995, I worked in non-profit management and fundraising for three different national health organizations. I learned many important life lessons during that time, one of which has to do with acquisition and distribution of wealth. In Fundraising 101 I learned that there are two types of people: those who are striving to acquire as much as possible and those who have enough and are looking for ways to distribute what they have acquired. Of course, the best charitable donors are the ones in the distribution phase of their lives.

That's where I am: in the distribution phase. In 2008 I sold my 767-square-foot house and its contents. Fortunately, I bought the house in 2003 for $60,000 and was able to sell it for $95,000. Not bad in the year the bubble burst. I could have spent another $20,000 and made a bigger profit, but I undoubtedly would not have been able to sell it so quickly--before the Open House--if my asking price had been over $100,000; plus, my kitchen and bath would have been unusable for weeks.

In 2008 I had already been working part-time since 1995 (yes, the year I quit my high-stress fundraising and management job), so it wasn't a huge step from 20 hours a week to 0 hours a week. With the help of a small inheritance, I was able to retire a year early and live my dream of traveling the country in a small motorhome. I "distributed" the house proceeds to MasterCard, my daughter's wedding, and the guy who sold me the motorhome. I distributed my car and the entire contents of my house, including most of my clothes. It took three days to figure out what I could put into the RV and what I absolutely had to keep in storage (family photos, high school yearbooks(?), winter coat, tax returns).

About the only thing I have left to distribute is my love and my gratitude, so for 2009, under #3 above, I am making a list of 60 things for which I am grateful. I've bought Sarah Ban Breathnach's The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude (thanks, Oprah) and since she suggests that we write down five things every day, I should have my 60 things in 12 days. For January 1, Sarah includes the following quote from Melody Beattie: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Here are the five things I recorded yesterday:
1. I'm grateful that I am healthy.
2. I'm grateful that I had a good night's sleep.
3. I'm grateful to be staying in this place where I have free electricity and WiFi.
4. I'm grateful that I can leave any time I want to.
5. I'm grateful for cheeseburgers at Johnny Rocket's (I guess this is not the year I stop eating meat.)

Here's wishing you Peace and Gratitude in 2009.