And the winner is...

by Eric Crow

November sky in Lodi, Ohio

With the money from my future earnings, I'll be able to go on a getaway weekend to places like San Francisco and not have to worry about being on a tight budget. I'll be able to take my partner to concerts and the theater (and it doesn't hurt at all that there's a nice hotel right across the street from the office). I'll be able to start saving money for big ticket items, like my first trip to Europe. Wine tastings. Pets. Etc., etc., etc...

On the news the other day was an item how nobody picked the winning numbers for the $325 million dollar Mega Millions, complete with the usual pics showing lines at convenience stores and "on the street" interviews asking people what they would do with the money.

Me, I always answer that question from my Higher self, with a great deal more pragmatism than I think I would if I actually chose the winning numbers. I would set up charities and fund people to follow their dreams left and right. I would buy a modest house and a couple cars and property which I would rent to people who needed the financial break. 

With the money from my future winnings, I'll be able to go on getaway weekends to San Francisco and not have to worry about a tight budget. I would be able to take my partner on a trip around the world and we could go to Vegas every week if we wanted to, or to a concert or show around where I work (and it doesn't hurt at all that there's a nice hotel right across the street from the office.) Big ticket items, like my first trip to Europe. Wine tastings. Pets. Etc., etc., etc.

Pause.

See how I repeated myself? I noticed that on my way home from work Thursday morning. My new job and winning the lottery both seem to occupy the same space in my mind. I have a good job in a great location, and it feels like I won the lottery. 

I know a lot of people would understand that, but in my mind, some people would also think it was a little weird to be putting so much value on an office job. "It's a good opportunity, but don't get ahead of yourself." When I think these thoughts, the "yeah, but you gotta work for it" thoughts also drop by. Ring the alarm, you better work, all that. 

October sunset in Walnut Creek

Plus, I find myself wanting to and wanting to know more about the company and the people where I'm working. I'm starting to think about my professional demeanor and the kind of person I want to be at work. I'm still very much the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) type, but there are many facets of me that I can bring out in myself for new position.

In other words, I get the chance to introduce my bosses and co-workers to the person I am on my resume, because that tells a very definite story about me. I found that out first hand when during my hiring call, from compliments relayed to me through the person who interviewed me (now my boss). Now I get the chance to have what I want and I get to start planning how I want to make that happen. 

In other words, as the storyline on the Facebook site says, "I get to take everything I've been working on for the past 25 years and put it to work for the next 25 years." It's a very nice feeling. Indeed, it is.

The graduate

All this said, there is a big missing here. It would make a long story even longer to explain. Let's just say that where most people reach a certain age and realize they have everything they want except for love, for me, I replace the word "love" with "career opportunity." I've been active in the communities I now serve with New Horizons For Fifty and have graduated from college with a triple-major. Most of you know my story in that regard, and what you don't know will be coming out in print in 2019. I love that I've been able to do that and more, but career opportunities have always been 

a black box to me. 

Except now that's changed. Finally!!!

It changed because I knocked on the door. It opened. I put my foot in the doorway. It didn't slam against my foot. I pushed the door open. I walked through. There were people waiting on the other side to help guide me to the right place. I sit at a desk in an office in a building that's three blocks from Beverly Hills and I have a view of the Hollywood sign. Those are words I never thought I would say. Ever. This was not part of my plan. My plan by age 50 was that I would be living in Vermont. I didn't know what I would be doing in Vermont, I just knew I would be there: 

A magnet on my kitchen

There are three ingredients to this recipe. One is taking action--I got that down pat. The second ingredient is serenity. Serenity tells me to "let go and let God." (I call my Higher Power by the initials "CF"--Creation Force). The third is possibility. This has to do with who I am.

My office building

Humans being always talk about we have to do be somebody. But it's not what you do that makes you who you are. It's the other way around. Who I am determines what I'm up to. I am here. I have a purpose. It connects me to the world. 

I am possible. 

That's what the balloons posting from last night is about. And what I want to do for my new employer, I want to do for all of you who read New Horizons content. My question for 2019 is this: What will make New Horizons For Fifty show up in people's lives as a possibility? I know this much--I want as many people on the same page as possible. We're still snark-free, that's not going to change, and we're all about beauty and wonder. What's the next part of the equation? The current state of affairs in Washington offers a clue, in the form of connection, purpose and power (that comes from strength, not force).

As I see it, the chaos we are going through has the potential to be the biggest soul-making moment our country will ever have. Because there is a maleficent force present in the country, which has stopped hiding and cannot be found in just one person, but we have been countering every move this presence makes. Our collective power is something to reckon with. Don't play small with your portion. That just won't do. Show up, don't give up. Be possible. 

Let's make 2019 a year to remember!

At the Aquarium of the Pacific

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Greetings from my Munkeh and me