How do you measure: are you losing or winning?
Is life full of triumph or slightly head-spinning?
Here’s a small exercise, simple yet wise:
Take stock of your “big deals” – your lows and your highs.
Your marriages, missteps, your loves and your losses,
Your brilliant “I nailed it” or “Oh Well . . . that was crosses.”
Your children, your choices, your flops and your flair.
Make a list of them all. Yes, everything’s fair.
Now travel back softly to ten-year-old you:
What mattered back then? What felt thrilling and true?
A badge on your sash? Your first fish on a line?
A pocketknife treasure you thought was divine?
Those moments reveal what mattered to you then,
And how you’ve been changing again and again.
For growth isn’t just getting older each year –
It’s seeing why things felt important or dear.
Remember the drill team in eighth grade delight?
You made it – hooray! You belonged! What a sight!
It wasn’t just rhythm or boots in a row –
It was proof you weren’t clumsy, you could steal the show.
And missing the flag team? That wasn’t a curse –
Perhaps those big banners would only feel worse!
Too heavy, too tall – just not meant for your hand.
So pom-poms you chose, and you cheered in command.
Do you see the small wisdom tucked into your track?
Each “no” gently nudged you when you should move back.
You never were failing, not truly – not you.
You simply made choices with less-perfect view.
And what of that marriage that fizzled in three?
Was it “just a mistake”? Or a lesson to see?
Perhaps it revealed what you never would choose,
Or taught you of strength when you felt you might lose.
You must own each moment, each stumble, each scar –
For wisdom is built from actions which are . . .
You cannot step forward, you cannot feel free,
Till you claim: “This whole journey was crafted by me.”
For all those “bad choices,” those cringe-worthy days,
Are bricks in the path of your present-day ways.
Without them, dear friend, you would not be this you –
A different whole person, with different whole view.
So, look with clear eyes – be both steady and kind,
Examine your past with a calm, level mind.
You might find you had choices you didn’t quite see.
Or too many options that tangled your “be.”
And if you are fearful to walk your known track,
Admit it – no shame in a courage you lack.
For timing is clever, and growth has its pace –
You’re gathering strength for your next daring place.
So trust in your journey, each twist and each turn –
For wisdom is something you live and you earn.
You’re not lost or failing – no need to pretend.
You’re learning your way right on through to the end.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Which of your choices have worked out well – and which haven’t? What have you learned from both in the course of time? Do you trust the choices you make?
