Love What You Have

Your concern is not so much to have what you love anymore, but to love what you have – right now. — Richard Rohr

Two things have been happening in my life simultaneously. On the one hand, I’ve been embracing the second half of life while on the other hand, going through a prolonged season of recovery and transition unlike any thing I’ve experienced.

Two things are becoming clear: 

• Certain things in life are worth hanging on to.
• Certain things in life are better dropped.

There is a real difference between the first and second half of life. This isn’t a new insight to me but is a different perspective that has opened up my mind to new discovers. I’m not exactly sure where the switch over took place but when I look at the characteristics of each half, I feel most definitely to be in the second half.

One of the characteristics of the second half is expressed in the opening Rohr quote.  Second half living is about coming to the place in your life where you learn to love what you have and are not so obsessed with going after what you love (and don’t have).

Richard Rohr in his book Falling Upward calls this shift a “monumental change from the first half of life, so much so that it is almost the litmus test of whether you are in the second half of life at all.”

First half of life issues include:

• survival
• making a name for yourself
• impressing others
• being successful
• getting married and starting a family
• building a platform for life
• getting established in a career
• figuring out how you fit in

Second half of life issues include: 

• thriving
• making an impact
• finding significance
• clarifying purpose
• right-sizing not just down-sizing

Transitions in life create opportunities to push life’s pause button and ask soul searching questions. I’ve done a lot of soul searching over the past three years and am starting to realize how much I’ve changed for the better. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m moving in the right direction!

Some of the questions I’ve been asking myself include:

• What needs to change in “who I am” not just in “what I do?”
• Who are my true friends and how am I cultivating those friendships so they last?
• What elephants in the room of my life need to be escorted out?
• What are the big rocks in my life I “must” pay attention to?
• What am I wasting my time doing that needs to be eliminated from my life?

You don’t have to wait for a life changing event to start asking deeper questions about your life and how you want it to play out during the second half. If you are feeling a stirring within your soul to go deeper, live with greater purpose, and pursue a life of significance, you might be on the cusp of the second half.

Which half of life are you in based on the opening quote?
What question would open up deeper understanding if you spent some time reflecting on it?

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