Now what?
By Bernadette A. Moyer

You get older and you have been there and done that! You have known those big moments in life, experienced those grand celebrations and big parties and trips and travel, so now what? What to do to celebrate, what to do to feel excited and inspired? How to make this period more special than the last? These are the questions that my good girlfriend and I posed to one another as we were just about to turn 60 years old.

I am not big on going “out” for the holidays, mostly because I grew up in the hotel bar and restaurant business where I worked most big holidays. People in the business tend to call New Year’s Eve, Mother’s Day and most celebrations out as “amateur night” most sane people stay home! Prices are higher, crowds are larger and service just not as good.

At a certain age what you are looking for can’t be purchased in any retail store and doesn’t exist out “there” but rather inside our own hearts and souls. Peace, love and purpose become the greatest gifts that you give to yourself. These are the only places where you find pure joy. For me this is where God lives …

In another conversation with my 86 year old “Other Mother” she states, “you have an outstanding way of forgiving”  I have forgiven much and I have forgiven often, especially when it comes to family members. Let’s just say I have had a lot of practice beginning with early childhood and forward.

I have the hardest time understanding why anyone hangs on to anger and hatred, why would you do that to your own heart and soul? Hate and love can’t co-exist and I choose love and I do my best to choose it over and over again.

Forgiveness truly is the gift that we give to ourselves. There is no peace, no love nor true joy without the grace of forgiveness. So often it starts with forgiving ourselves and only then, is it possible to forgive all others …

Since beginning this blog my 60th birthday has come and gone and it was a memorable milestone birthday and one that I will never ever forget. There was a really big gift, I will write more about it later, but the truth is that without peace, love and purpose there could not be any gift that would have brought me such joy.

On my birthday, I was remembered by so many and in so many ways, that my peace, love and joy ruled the day.

What else could any 60 year old birthday girl really wish for … all the many blessings that come with peace, love and purpose where there lives joy and an abundance of blessings!

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