Is it too late? – End of the Day for June 8, 2014

As you grow older, her dis a recurring thought that can creep in and shake you up — “Is it too late?” Whether you are thinking about a new career, learning to paint, becoming a musician, writing the Great American Novel, time can seem to be awfully fleeting. Of course, as the old saying goes, “how old will be you be if you don’t…?” You can’t stop time. You can only make the most of the time you are given. You need to use ALL that time, too. You shouldn’t check out before the very end arrives. That’s a waste for everyone, including yourself. You need to pursue your interests, your wants, your needs and your desires.

That said, it can be hard sometimes. We can all get worn down, worried, and wondering if something is really worth the time. It can become too easy to lose ourselves in the creations of others instead of creating something ourselves. We can lose ourselves in the Internet, television, recorded music, books and more. We need not, though.

We can create anything we want — large or small — and we can create it for ourselves. Sure, we can hope that others will enjoy it or find it useful, but we must first feel and enjoy the intrinsic rewards of creating. Heck, why do you think I take the time to write these little essays each day. Back at the beginning of this, my 50th year — I felt the need to put some thoughts down on the page that perhaps I hadn’t ever shared before. While I may have been speaking of these ideas in my head, there is something in releasing them into the world that makes them special and give them even more power in my own life. It allows me and forces me to think more deeply about these ideas and really con side what they mean to me.

I think you can, and should, be creating something for yourself everyday, too. What do you want to say? What do you want to do? What do you want to create? It doesn’t matter how old your are — or how young. Just do it! Keep it to yourself. Share it with the world. Maybe even turn it into something big and amazing and popular throughout the world. You never know what happen when you create. Make something powerful enough and it takes on a life of its own, flies free from your grasp and changes the world.

At the very end, though, do it for yourself. That should be enough.

Previously on End of the Day: