Living a good life over fifty is a jigsaw puzzle of varied shapes and sized pieces. Each piece represents something important to us, a person, activity or belief. These are the things which fill our lives. If you look around my little webpage you will see I have broken these down into five basic areas. Love, laughter, security, health and creativity. Each of us will weight these differently but I absolutely believe that a good life over fifty has some attention to each of these subjects.
For instance, you could be an amazing cake chef, turning out incredibly detailed cakes that blow the mind, but if you don’t take care of your health you won’t be feeling much like baking. In turn, you could be the greatest money manager of all time, chocking up record returns that beat all estimates, but if you don’t pay attention to your significant other, you could soon be counting the returns of loneliness.
I have a passion for music that has kept my creative life full of positive vibe. (get it…”vibe”) I play multiple instruments including guitar and piano, I write songs and sing. Although I have tried to make money in music over the years I have long given up the money making drive in return for the “filling the soul” drive. Music makes me smile, gets my blood moving and helps me be creative when I write and perform my own music. Plus, it is just plain fun. Every Thursday night I meet up with a herd of musician friends, and some other great friends who just come by to listen. It is an open mic format where each person who signs up gets to perform three songs. Without a doubt, this is the highlight of my week. There has to be something really big going on in my life for me to miss open mic.
Another aspect of open mic night for me is that I have marketed myself to my friends as a sideman, or a supporting player. If you are singing and playing guitar, maybe you would like a second guitar or a slide guitar or a harmonica. Since I play a number of different instruments, I can cover a lot of ground. Last night I got to perform eleven different songs with four different people. This is close to heaven on earth for me.
One interesting thing occurred to me several weeks ago. I thought about the friends I have in life, and then I sorted out the ones I see most often and do things with most often. Guess what? You already see it don’t you? The friends I spend the most time with share my creative music hobby. That’s not to say I don’t get together with others, but easily ninety percent of my friend time is with music folks.
What is your creative hobby or passion? If you say you don’t have one you aren’t looking hard enough. My Dad’s creative hobby was woodworking. He loved to make small furniture like bathroom vanities and bookshelves. He made little note clips that sat on the table and he cut out and painted an untold number of those small wooden cats that sit on top of your door frame. My 92 year old mother played the piano well into her 80s and even with her dementia and Alzhiemers she can still bang out Dixie upon request. Amazing that she can’t remember what she had for lunch ten minutes ago but she can still play a song on the piano.
Find your creative passion and nurture it. If you still insist you don’t have one, I’d suggest you pick something and give it a ride. I truly believe it will fill your soul and make you smile and feel good. Finds ways to meet up with others who share that passion. Go to meetup.com and look for groups that share your interest. You soul is calling. How will you fill it?