5 TIPS FOR FINDING YOUR WINGS

     To find the best path forward, look back.

     If you desire to unearth a meaningful course for your life, look back at those special activities or experiences that gave you a heightened sense of being alive.

• What were you doing when you felt you made a difference, either in your life, or in someone else’s?

• Have you ever traveled to a special place that made you feel more enriched? More enlightened?

• Have you ever learned something new that made you feel fulfilled in a way you haven’t felt in a long time?

• When you were a child, what were the things you did that gave you complete and utter joy?

•  What did you dream of becoming “when you grew up”?

     Pinpointing these “peak” moments from your past will help you determine your core values. Determining these values ― i.e. helping others, creativity, adventure, family ― is the first step in your journey of finding your passion(s) in life.

     Find your wings… at any age.

WHEN GRIEF TRANSFORMS INTO A SPIRIT OF THANKS

   
BY ANTOINETTE RAINONE

    Thanksgiving will always be a bittersweet holiday for me, and not because of the (bitter) cranberry sauce and (sweet) potatoes I inevitably find on my plate every year.

    
    As the last holiday my mother and I shared together, I dreaded the holiday as it rolled around each year. It was painful for me to get through the traditions of carving a turkey, eating pomegranates, and watching “March of the Wooden Soldiers” without her. She had died the following Monday, and, some years, Thanksgiving falls on her anniversary. 

    With the passing of each year, though, my grief began to change. I began to think about how much Mom loved Thanksgiving, and that my dread of this beautiful day was not honoring her spirit.

    I began to give thanks. And as I give thanks, my grief transforms into the realization that the special bond between a mother and daughter never dies.

    I give thanks that Mom absolutely loved this holiday, and that we were given the gift to share it, one last time. 

    I give thanks that I have a wonderful husband and son to share this day with. 

    I give thanks that I have a wonderful mother-in-law with whom to share it, too. 

    This Thanksgiving, I give thanks that my best friend of 30 years and her family are sharing the holiday with us. 

    Earlier today while they were in the kitchen cooking breakfast, my sister called. She told me she had a dream of Mom eating olives, then chipped her tooth on an olive pit. Sis and I had a good laugh over that!

    When I got off the phone, I decided to set the table for Thanksgiving breakfast with our friends with a new tablecloth an aunt brought us from Italy. Opening the box for the first time, I took it out to look at the most beautiful pattern... OLIVES! 

    Thanks, Mom.

    What are some things you give thanks for?

    No matter where we find ourselves in life, there is one thing all of us can give thanks for. 

    We can all give thanks for Thanksgiving. 

    We can all give thanks that a woman named Sarah Hale deemed the value of giving thanks important enough to dedicate 38 years of her life writing thousands of letters and editorials, pleading to have Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday.

   We can all give thanks that Sarah Hale found her wings, and that this simple woman – with her unstoppable passion and belief in the transformative spirit of giving thanks – could make such a beautiful difference in the world.

   Find your wings... at any age.

GUIDEPOSTS: WHAT’S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

By ANTOINETTE RAINONE
      
    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his first minuet at age 6. He wrote his first complete symphony at age 8. He composed 33 symphonies between the ages of 8 and 19 – representing over one half of the total number of symphonies he’d write during his lifetime.

       Grandma Moses painted her first painting at age 78. Up until then, she’d spent her adult life as a farmer’s wife, taking care of her children, feeding and watering the chickens, and making butter for extra money. After becoming one of America’s most influential “primitive” painters, she spent the next 23 years devoted to art. 

      Two artists. Two tales. Two opposite ends of the spectrum.

      Mozart found his wings early in life. Grandma Moses found her wings late.

      What’s age got to do with it anyway? The important thing is they discovered their life passions.

      My mother was 75 when she found her wings – literally. That’s the age she conquered her lifelong fear of flying and boarded a jet to Las Vegas. You can read an article, "Faith in Flight," I wrote about it in the December 2013 issue of Guideposts magazine, (www.guideposts.org)

     Not only did Mom conquer her fear – once she had a taste of the amazing feelings of flying at 35,000 feet and seeing the world from a totally different perspective – she embraced her new passion.

     “Where are we flying to next?” she’d ask me every time we got together.

     Ten months later, Mom boarded an 8-seat Cessna on a trip to Cape Cod.

     “You’re kidding!” Friends and family were flabbergasted. “YOUR Mom is going on THAT small propeller plane?”

     “Yep,” I said. “She’s an adventurer now.”

     Having recently celebrated my 50th birthday, I am embarking on my own new adventure – this blog. Here, I’ll be posting many tips on finding your wings. I hope you will stop by from time to time to share your own tips and experiences.  

• Have you found your wings? 
• Have you tried something new, something you’ve always wanted to do? 
• Have you embraced the things in life that bring you the most joy and fulfillment?

     It doesn’t matter how old – or young – you are. You just have to find that special spark within yourself and go with it.

     If I can make one more wish for my 50th, my wish is for this blog to become a community of “fellow flyers” – a place where people share their life passions – and encourage one another to find theirs along the way.

     The time is now. It’s never too late.

     Find your wings... at any age.