Her name is Roz Savage and at this moment, she's rowing across the Pacific -- alone. She prefers doing it that way because, for one thing, if there's a mutiny, it's pretty easy to put down. She has a support team that meets her at various locations along the way and she maintains contact by iPhone.
How did all this start? The short version is, she was married, working as a consultant, and making a nice living. She had the life to which many aspire and still, there was something essential missing. While riding a commuter train, she set about working on two versions of her obituary -- an interesting approach to self-evaluation. The first was her life as she might have wished it to be. The second was the life she had been living. The difference was startling and she (like me a few years ago) realized she didn't want to arrive at the "station" saddled with regrets. Right here is where we connected.
So, she began making incremental changes, shedding the trappings of her old life, to begin the pursuit of one she felt was truly worth living. She's learned a lot in the process and one thing she's said has really stuck with me: if you repeat what you're doing today, every day for the next 365, will you be closer to or further from the life you wish to live?
I'll be the first to admit, not everyone can or needs to become a Roz Savage. This is her story, mine is mine, and yours is, of course, your own. Still, her's is well worth reading because she's living in a way that she finds to be genuine. I think that's the real point. Not whether I've abandoned home and hearth to do whatever, but am I living my life in a way that leads to fulfillment, joy, enhances love, and enables me to face the inevitable without regret. Not always and not everyone, but some of us may have to row the equivalent of an ocean or two to get there.
(Image by Getty Images via Daylife)
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I used to think that, when I reached A Certain Age, stability and peace would set in. Well, whittling ducks, as Bruce the Smarter and Nicer Spousal Unit says, didn't happen, and the older we both get, the better adventure sounds. We only have one life and a few vocations, and they deserve the best effort we can give them.
ReplyDeletePeace and blessings this Labor Day to my role model Miss Lillian Carter, President Jimmy's late, great mom, who joined the Peace Corps at 67.
Honestly, I think it takes a few years to be able to recognize adventure when it comes along. I'm just now saying this for the first time, by the way. When we're younger, it's easy to mistake excitement for adventure. They aren't necessarily the same thing, though adventure can be exciting. But reaching beyond our capabilities, expanding our horizons, taking steps into the unknown, all of these things require some maturity to be experienced in their fullness. It's like having a sufficiently developed taste for wine in order to appreciate how a 1972 St. Emilion differs from a 2009 bottle of Gallo red table wine. It takes some experience to enjoy the difference. And three cheers for Miss Lillian, as well!
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