Life is a gift, you have to unwrap it yourself
Have you ever watched a child unwrap a present?
A friend of mine prepared a children's lesson on the topic of wisdom for the church children's programme she was leading. She was thinking about how she could familiarise the children with this topic. She remembered the story of King Solomon, who asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him.
To make the whole thing more vivid, she had wrapped a present and the children were allowed to unwrap it one by one while she told the story. The gift was artfully wrapped with beautiful paper, bows and glittery stickers.
One of the children carefully and reverently picked up the gift while it was still fully wrapped. It looked carefully at the paper, the glue and the bows. Then it beamed excitedly and said expectantly: I can already smell the wisdom! And pulled the bow to unwrap it ...
Life is a gift
Have you ever thought about the fact that life is a gift? Every morning when we wake up and a new day lies ahead of us is a gift. But do we receive this gift as reverently and thoughtfully as the child in the nursery? Are we excited and full of anticipation every morning? Do we unwrap the present completely every day and savour every glittering sticker, every bow, every facet? Or do we often put it - only half unwrapped - in the corner?
In fact, life is a gift that we are often the most careless with.
Are you already alive?
"Every person is given the world at birth. The whole world. And most of us haven't even touched the ribbon, let alone looked inside." (Leo Buscaglia)
This quote is the quote of the week from my current Inspiration mail.
I know a woman who has lived her whole life in the "then when...". "Then when I've finished my education...then when I'm married...then when the children are older, then when the house is built...then when the work is done..."
She rarely or never enjoyed the moment she was in. Instead, her thoughts were always focussed on the next thing that needed to be done, finished, done. Even in retirement.
She was and is rarely happy. Because you can only be happy in the NOW. In the moment. In the moment in which you are living.
It makes me sad to see such a life. I wish you (and myself) that we can take our lives as a gift and live them today... In the now.
The facets of life
Arne Kopfermann are in one of his Songs:
"I love life, with all its colours. Its highs, its lows, its joys, its scars..."
He lost his little daughter in a car accident. He processes his grief in thoughtful songs. He does not exclude pain and unanswered questions to God, and at the same time he is full of hope and confidence.
Not everything is in our hands. Some things happen. We experience failures, accidents and tragedies. We can only regret that. But we generally have far more opportunities to shape our lives than we utilise.
Dancing through life at 90
One of my disciplines is jumping on the trampoline in the morning. I was motivated by a 90-year-old lady I had in mind. To be more precise, the lady I would like to be at 90.
A few years ago I read the biographical book "A year by the sea" by Joan Anderson. Joan, a frustrated woman in her fifties who no longer knows what to do with herself and life, meets another Joan: Joan Erikson, the widow of the psychologist Erik Erikson, to whom the division of life into different stages goes back.
In contrast to the frustrated Joan, Joan, who is forty years older, is bursting with life. When they discover a pond in the woods during a walk, she jumps in - out of sheer joie de vivre. She has remained physically fit - she works out on the stepper every day - and even more so mentally. At over 90, she decides to add to her husband's work: "What we wrote about old age when we were 70 was still immature. It needs to be revised again."
That inspired me. And I decided:
I want to be a woman at 90
- who is physically fit and mobile
- who dresses stylishly and in bright colours and delights in beauty
- that is still developing and learning
- who invests in others and can give them a sense of purpose and courage
- who rejoices in her God and in life.
- that is so attractive that people like to spend time with it
How I am at 90 starts today. I don't have 100% control over whether accidents or illnesses restrict or even end my life. That is beyond my control. But what I can do today will help me to be a happy 90-year-old later on.
Today I would like to
- Doing good for my body, keeping it flexible and fit
- Nourish myself so that it strengthens me
- Enjoy beauty
- Putting aside the negative, receiving comfort and recognising the good
- Learn something new
- Rejoice in God and in life
Your end of life
Imagine yourself at the end of your life. Imagine that you have lived your life really well in the years between now and the end of your life. You took good care of yourself, made the best of your life, did and created the things you wanted and dreamed of. And you have left something behind in this world.
You can now look back on a happy, wonderful life. Take the time to visualise this image in detail in your mind's eye.
- Where are you?
- Who is part of your life?
- What does your environment look like?
- How do you feel?
- What have you done over the years?
- What has changed?
- How did this change come about?
- Who contributed what?
Unpack life
How and where you will be at 90 starts today. You and I don't have everything in our hands.
But I want to invite you to find life again where you have lost it. I want to show you what you can do today to be a happy 90 years old later. I want to unwrap the present with you, with all its colours. I have practical everyday instructions for this:
The 8 + 1 colours for a colourful life
- - Vision
- - Structure
- - Sense
- - Highlights
- - Energy
- - Relationships
- - Reflection
- - Peace and quiet
- - Trust
You may have recognised it - above I have listed the 8 + 1 life elements of the Swing - concept that you need for a strong, balanced life. The Swing - concept is the birthday cake to celebrate your life:
If one or more elements of life are neglected in the long term, our life loses strength and joy. It is therefore important to ensure that no area is permanently neglected.
Do you want to live stronger and lighter?
I can help you with this and accompany you with:
LEO. Live strong as a lion makes you stronger and takes you further.
This is my online life training programme for men and women who don't want to let life pass them by, but want to draw from the full again. It starts again in January.
Are you unsure whether LEO can help you?
I have a 60-second quiz for you to find out which building block you need most urgently right now:
You will then receive your result and a detailed PDF with tips free of charge. Perhaps the quiz and the result will help you to decide whether an investment in LEO could improve your life.
I wish you a lively day!
From the heart
Your
Kerstin Hack
