Pay Attention

“For anyone trying to discern what to do with their life: Pay attention to what you pay attention to. That's pretty much all the info you need.”  Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I have a friend who has decided to embrace turning seventy this year. She has created a new Facebook page dedicated to her love of fashion and thrifting. She has lost quite a bit of weight over the last year and, by necessity, needed to invest in a new wardrobe. Being a retired teacher, she knew she had to consider the cost of such an endeavor. 

Rather than look at this as an impossible undertaking, she took the bull by the horns. She has not only created a whole new wardrobe for herself, but is encouraging others to do the same without breaking the bank. More than anything, she is inspiring a generation of women entering a new decade to know that it's not over yet. We are all capable of embracing what we love and are naturally drawn to in this new season of life. 

I loved Amy Rosenthal's words. Rather than looking at the trends to decide what you want to do with your life, look more toward the things that catch your attention. As much as I'd like to up my fashion game, it's truly not what catches my eye. It's kind of ironic that I'm finally at an age where I have some extra money to spend on clothes, but I'm basically clueless about fashion. I plan to use my friend’s Facebook page, Curated by Sharon, as a guide. 

On the other hand, give me a library, a bookstore, an author talk, and I'm in seventh heaven. In paying attention to this, I'm now writing a novel, revising a children's book, have joined two writing groups, and am facilitating a book club. I also read to preschoolers once a month at the library. In addition, I'm still contributing to two blogs I created years ago. 

I want to encourage others to look closely at what captures their attention and challenge themselves to, as my friend says, “curate” a life in keeping with their interests. The Japanese have a philosophy called Igigai, which, in a nutshell, is “a reason to get out of bed in the morning.” They have learned that purpose is not something you outgrow. In fact, finding your purpose at each season of your life will help bring more meaning to your days.

As Annie Dillard reminds us in her book, The Writing Life. “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” Her words should encourage us to be more intentional in what we choose to do. Our lives become more meaningful when we focus on creativity and positive daily habits. 

Sadly, Amy Rosenthal’s life was cut short at the age of fifty-one due to ovarian cancer. Remarkably, she wrote and published more than thirty books for both children and adults in just twelve years. If you'd like to learn more about her, check out her TED Talk in February of 2010 titled "7 Notes on Life."