Someday, you know, you won’t be famous any more. Oh...you’re not famous now? Well, let’s put it this way, someday, whatever you thought was special about your abilities and gifts will seem a lot less special to everyone, including you.

The nature of aging means giving up some things and adding some things. 

For sure, things don’t just stay the same. Take my knees for example—please take my knees! They don’t function the way they’re supposed to and are going to have to be replaced at some point. I wish I could brag about them being the victims of some old sports injury, but the fact is, they’re just tired of carrying my 6’3” body as it grinds them down relentlessly. It could be because I took up Hoops at 50! Stupid!!

Things change, and, please forgive this risqué one-liner (it’s always been one of my favorites), as the aging exotic icon, Gypsy Rose Lee, used to say, “I have everything I had 20 years ago, it’s just a little lower.” 

We’re all great at something during the gravy years of our careers—even riveting, welding, and perhaps preaching could fall into the outstanding-wow-amazing category. Most of us would never earn a dime if we couldn’t attract an employer’s attention to our uniqueness. 

Here’s the bad news. You hopefully will continue to be loved until you die, but you may not be asked to rivet anything past the age of 70. There are exceptions (by the thousands) of course, but you probably will not be one of them. 

So what’s left? 

I loved Tom Harper’s Chapter 6: Exit with a slow fizzle from last week where he talks about one of Christianity’s modern heroes, Bob Russell, the 40-year senior minister of 18,000-member Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky. Read it! Long and short of it is that Bob made an incredible exit and replaced his own well-earned authority with a loving humility and sense of gratitude for what had been.

One might call it “Greatness to Gratitude” living. Obviously, Micah tells us to lean into humility as we weigh our closing resources, but not everyone is able to gracefully move from the former to the latter.

Here are 7 attitudes and suggestions that might help...

1. Always assume that whatever you’re doing now will close down at some point and you’ll need to get ready to do something else. 

It’s like saving for a rainy day. You may not need the capital now, but later it could come in very handy.

2. Build up the vital part of your character that gives credit to others for something that you actually might have made happen.

Whatever rewards you may need to feel good about yourself are usually best stored in the lives of others.

3. Avoid excess in your living in order to leave room for access in your living. 

The more we concentrate on our own needs and accomplishments, the more likely we are to lose credibility and shut out those who really need our love and support.

4. Never go to a grocery store without being grateful for its existence.

Groceries in abundance are simply emblematic of the wealth of options we have to consume stuff. In the case of food, you’ve got to have it, and there it is! Amazing! 

5. Keep repeating, “I love you,” to people you care about, then learn to say it to everyone else, too. 

It’s hard to love everyone! It takes practice. The act of practicing often makes it so.

6. When you turn on the water at your house, be overwhelmingly thankful that it works.

Remember that you don’t create water and you aren’t the one who gets it to your house. It’s important to realize that you are part of the universe, but it doesn’t revolve around you. 

7. Have at least one cup of tea every day and note its idiosyncratic qualities.

It takes time, it steeps, it cannot be rushed, it is served to royalty and enjoyed by peasants. It connects you to the ecology of time and reflection. 

Don’t miss the opportunity to leave greatness behind and replace it with some good old-fashioned gratitude!

Blessings 

Doug

Write me if you need some help, advice, or a kick in the pants... dlawrenceconsult@mac.com