My Thoughts on 9/11

I am resurrecting this blog ... it's been way too long. I'll be back a lot.

Today is the perfect day to ReGenerate a blog about ReInvention.
Think about where you were on 9/11. How did you first hear about it? Who were you with? Did you spend the day glued to the television like I did? Did you cry and wail for the horrific number of lives lost? Did you sit with the fear, wondering if we might all be endangered?

I was still living in Austin, TX back then. I was alone that morning. My then husband had gone to work, taken my car because his was in the shop. I was 30 miles outside of Austin and I knew none of my neighbors. We had moved to a couple of acres in a rural area. It was peaceful, but isolating.

I kept in touch with loved ones via telephone that day. Austin was threatened because it was President Bush's home. I wondered if my husband would make it home or if there would be an explosion at the capital or at the huge IRS campus.

None of that happened. My husband came home, my son and friends were all fine. But, none of us were really ever the same again. Our world and our lives had changed.

The message of 9/11 for me was "Life is way too short to be unhappy ... so live each moment to the fullest." As a result, in January, I asked for a divorce. I needed to leave an unhappy marriage of 25 years and search for more fulfillment. This started reinvention in an upward way.

I lived on my own in Austin for the next four years. I began dating men (that was fun.) In late 2005, I was yearning for something more and different. So, in March of 2006, I sold nearly everything and moved to NYC for a new adventure. I was 60 years old and starting life in the Big Apple .. a life long dream of mine.

My career thrived. I started speaking and writing about ReInvention. I published an autobiography called Sixty,Sexy, Sassy and Free: A Real Woman's Story of ReInvention. I was happy. Then, in 2009, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suffice it to say it's been a challenging couple of years. Having cancer, as a self-employed, single person is overwhelming. I wondered how I would make a living. But, I've come through strong, am now healthy and rebuilding.... "reinventing." And, I'm still thrilled to be living in NYC.

Truthfully, none of that would have happened if terrorists hadn't crashed airplanes into the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001. I would not have had the dose of reality I needed to push me forward. For that, I'm so incredibly grateful. It feels a bit selfish to feel grateful .. but I know many others who's lives have been touched in a positive way because of how they translated the 9/11 experience and used it to grow.

So, I ask you .... what are your thoughts on this day? How have you grown and changed by the wake up call we call 9/11.

Be safe.
ann

Shut Up and Take Action

(To listen to this blog rather than read it go here: http://tinyurl.com/2t3vgw )

Hi Everyone,
I think I want to rant a bit. There are so many things to reinvent in the world. If I were queen for a day... here's what I'd love to change:
- the whole political system in this country -- too much fighting and back stabbing
- the fact that people don't seem to understand one another -- the old "walk in someone else's shoes idea" ... if you're rich, spend a few days living like a poor person; and if you're poor, spend a few days living like a rich person. You'll see we all have issues.
- all the award shows ... could we just combine them into one long show ...?
- public fighting ... as on TV. I'm sick of the NBC issues. Do we need all these talk shows anyhow?
- lack of respect. I live in NYC, ride subways and buses. I can't tell you the number of young people that NEVER get up and give their seat to an older person who might need it. I can' even tell you how many younger people don't hold the door when they walk out, but rather just let it slam on the person behind them.
- news reporting... couldn't they just report what's happening without trying to destroy the person they're reporting about... people can make up their own minds.

Well, I could go on and on about my opinions. I won't. The point is ... there's much to change in the world AND we are mostly unable to pull those changes off. We can complain and whine; we can vote for change; we can write our editors, etc ... do what we can. There's a lot of frustration in trying to change big systems.

That being said .. we CAN effectly cause change in our own lives and maybe even those close to us. If we're sick and tired of how things are, we can work to shift our circumstances and have different experiences.

Stop saying "I can't." Stop thinking you can't. You can. If you're willing.

Much of my own personal change these days is circumstantial and sometimes feels out of my control. I have a scary health diagnosis, am getting treatment. It's an annoyance and I can't change that I have it. But, I can reinvent how I look at it all and deal with it. It IS up to me.

So, where in your life do you need to shut up and just take matters into your own hands to make some shifts and changes? I challenge you to take some action.

Share your thoughts, your actions... let us know what you're up to.
Reinvention is not overrated .. it's amazing and liberating and empowering.

Hang in there.
Ann