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Growing Whole

I left my voice in Buenos Aires. This is quite a challenge for me, because as many of you know, I am playing the role of Joseph in the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The show opens a week from today and rehearsals right now are very intense. My voice is normally very powerful. It is usually easy to hear me, even without a microphone. 

Last night, I was barely able to sing my part. This frustrated me. I couldn’t do what I am normally capable of doing. I could sing, but I could not generate any volume. When I tried to generate the volume that I needed, my voice cracked. I felt powerless and vulnerable. I don’t know any other way to describe it other than to say that I felt like I lost my super-powers.

Patience

This experience reminded me of the aging process that I am facing, and that everyone of us must someday face. One day we just wake-up and find that we are unable to do some of the things we use to do. When we first experience this, our mind sometimes tell us to go ahead and try and do it, but usually our body just won’t let us.

When these moments happen to me, I feel a lot like I felt last night. At first, I felt sad, but then I realized that I still could contribute something and so I did my best to fill the space as appropriately as possible. I wasn’t good enough to be show quality, but I was good enough to help the other cast members run through their parts.

Focusing On What We Gain

Our friends in Hollywood and TV Land teach us that the aging process is a losing process. Growing old, is rarely embraced. Nearly every example we see is about what people lose and how it affects their lives.  The stars we idolize are doing everything they can to appear young. As a result, many of us to want to do the same thing.

When I take a moment to see things as they really are, I discover that in the aging process, there are many more gains than there are losses. I personally don’t feel like I am growing old, because I see that I am growing whole. As I age, I begin to see the grand sum of my life experiences in perspective. I see how they fit together and how they can influence my future. This makes me better able to deal with the new experiences and challenges I face. All of my life experiences are working together to complete me. I am becoming the Andrew of my dreams. Without the aging process, it would never be possible for me to reach my potential. I would be stuck in a hovering state with little or no hope of growing into the person that I want to become. 

Do You See What I See?

What is it like for you? Is the aging process a vitalizing process? Do you look at the second half of life as a time of opportunity to engage in making your life aspirations a reality? Are you focused on growing whole instead of growing old?

Because my voice was different last night, I was able to see things that I normally would not have seen. I couldn’t just rely on one strength. I had to really focus on all of the resources I posses. This experience gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to engage the whole Andrew in the production.

I recognize that this type of thinking requires a bit of reframing, and that is exactly what I am inviting you to do. I want you to see things differently. I want you see things as they really are, because I know that when you do, you are going to see life for what it really is – Life is your opportunity to become. Don’t let it wait any longer.

Live Today! Love Today!

Andrew Thorn

760-559-3548

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: Andrew Thorn, Authenticity, Carpe Articulum, Dr. Andrew Thorn, Game of Life, Goal Setting, Happiness, Heart Might Mind & Strength, Leader Behaviors, Life is Good, Life Leadership Harmony, Love Today, Personal Best Leadership, Powerful Questions, Second Half of Life, Spiritual Intelligence, The Authentic Me, The Game of Life, The Telios Experience

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Authentic Behavior. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.