Life is unpredictable. That’s one certainty I’m comfortable declaring.

I’m 55 and it’s taken me this long to understand something I didn’t fully grasp at 18. There is only so much we can control.

If you have the right kind of brain you can predict with some sort of accuracy what might happen next week if you do certain things now. You play with all the variables and voila! You have predicted a likely scenario.  But even those equations have lurking unpredictable possibilities with ranking probabilities that can change everything you ever believed you knew about the world in an instant.  

I imagine those variables living just beyond the edge of the stage we call life. I can’t see them but I know they’re there. And sometimes I’m afraid of what the puppet master has planned for the next act.

So at 55 I am changing where I put my effort. My energy. Even my malfunctioning ticking-clock brain.

I’m trying to let life flow a little more. I have fewer expectations, take a few more deliberate breaths, and feel a little more at peace. I think this is a gift creating art has given me.

So… I’ll do my best. I’ll let you do your best, too. And if you need my help, I’ll help if I can.

And if I can’t?

I’ll change into my really cute, long-sleeved cheerleading outfit and cheer you on from the sidelines.

Because sometimes that’s what we can offer. Our best effort, a little breathing room, and the reminder that no one has to face the next act alone.