Just dreaming

This book is a blast from my past, I remember reading it when I was in my mid twenties like it was a bible. I bought a copy and kept it for years, picking it up now and again to remind myself that I could have anything I wanted. It gave me hope and inspiration for the future, if I followed her example I could indeed 'Have it all'. 

The idea of having it all when I was in my twenties was a lot different to what I see as having it all now. I wanted money, I wanted a lovely place to live, I wanted to travel, I wanted to be pretty, I wanted to have lots of friends to go out dancing with, I wanted to be popular and be with the 'in' crowd. To achieve this I needed fashionable clothes, to get my hair done every week, to wear makeup every day, and to be seen in all the right places with the right people. I thought that by having lots of money meant that you could have anything you wanted. People would like you, people would love you. Oh how shallow that all sounds now.

Today at the age of 65, my outlook on life is completely different. My priorities have changed. It's funny that when you are young you always want more, natural I suppose given that you still have a big chunk of your life left to live. When you are young you set your sights higher, you see what everyone else has and you want the same. Life is a competition when you are young, and when you are winning it can be a blast.

Now that I have dropped out of the competition, life is a lot more sweeter and my dreams are a lot more simpler. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in wanting to do the best for yourself, nothing wrong in wanting a better life. It's a good job that there are people with ambition, but there comes a time when you have to ask yourself what are you willing to give up to achieve your goals. How far should you push yourself? Do you keep on keeping on to get that new car or flat screen TV?

No, I haven't given up on my dreams, I still have some living to do, but it's on my terms. My dreams have changed, the goal posts have moved. Yes, when I was young I wanted the things that all teenage girls wanted in the sixties and early seventies, but when I hit my mid twenties my personality was not defined by material possessions, it was for a desire to enjoy each day as it came. Having it all is generally regarded as being wealthy, having a wonderful spouse, a fantastic job, and a loving family around you. In reality I was never going to have it all because I didn't have the focus or the ambition to push myself to the limit. My work brought me enough income to pay my way in life, and luckily I found a job which I enjoyed. What I didn't know then, and what I do know now is that I did have it all, but didn't know it.

Helen Gurley Brown was the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years, the same length of time I was a lorry driver. She died, aged 90, in August 2012. To read more about her life, click here.

Toodle pip.
PS. The beads have arrived today, thank you kind reader.