I’m writing this very late on a Sunday night (actually it’s Monday AM). My 59th birthday is over, and I’ve embarked on my sixtieth year of existence. If you had asked me twenty or thirty years ago what it would be like to be this age, I would have thought you were speaking of someone who was old and ready for the nursing home, but, truth is, I feel younger and more vibrant, and more cognizant of the way time flies than I could ever have imagined myself feeling.

A co-worker recently decided to hang up his IT spikes at the ripe old age of 67; I think that’s a goal worth realizing. As demanding and sometime infuriating as my profession is, I love my work and hope to be playing the project manager game for another eight years. Of course, to even think more than a week or two ahead in the kind of world we live in is sheer folly. As much as Tracey hates to hear me say it, I could be dead tomorrow and she’d be left to pick up all the pieces and journey ahead. That’s just the way it is.

All this being said, I think there’s a lot to be said about the wisdom gained over the years as I stare the big 6-0 square in the face.

First of all, forget about the past and whatever you’ve done well or screwed up. I’ve made huge mistakes, and I’m guessing y’all have too. Too many people let their pasts dictate their futures. I say let go of all of them – good and bad – and simply try to start each day anew as if you were an adult child. Whatever happened in the past is past, tomorrow is just conjecture. Today is all you have, so live it accordingly.

Secondly, pursue love in every way, manner, shape and form available to you as long as that love is not abusive or using your position or power to taking advantage of your affection. I truly believe God wants us to live our lives to their absolute fullness, and open our hearts and senses to all the beauty He has created and made available to us. As long as you’re pursuit of love doesn’t break laws or infringe on someone else’s rights, do it!

Finally, forget about what families, friends, and others tell you what you ought to do. Pursue your dreams in whatever way they reveal themselves to you. I’m going out on a BIG limb here, but I’m tired of being told what I ought to think and believe, whether it be by the so-called norms of society and religion. You only have one life, and you don’t want to ever find yourself laid out on a hospital bed and dying saying to yourself, “I only wish I had…” Have the guts and the self-confidence to break free and pursue whatever that dream was. Your life is your own, live it accordingly. Can you not see the shadows closing in?