Time is measuring me, with its every tick and tock. And it does so with or without my notice or permission. So, on mornings like this, I close my eyes, just for a moment to reflect on how I live my life under the scrutiny of time.

It wasn’t that long ago…my alarm would jolt me into yet another day. I instantly changed gears from possibility to what I considered to be my reality. Never thinking for a moment that those two could be one in the same.

I readied and steadied myself for what the day would deliver.  Each day twisted and turned and changed direction and that was just fine with me because that’s what I’d trained and planned for.  At the end of each work day, I’d mentally punch the clock and turn my attention to my home and all that waited for me there. Just like that, my heart rate slowed, I could feel the softness of my sweater and I, daily, visualized kicking off my shoes.

I was 59 years old when I retired from my “real job” and I left behind wages and benefits that would rival many. I left behind many treasured friends and a continued life of travel.  I, also, left behind a feeling of dread and insecurity, of a fatigue so much worse than just being physically tired. My focus had been on combative and aggressive planning strategies where my soul cried for relief.  And every moment that I chose to stay was a moment that I’d never get back.

Today, I live and work in a sanctuary, of sorts, where possibility and reality are my steady companions and impossible to tell apart. Through the years I’ve learned to see myself in a world where joy and love and gratitude are my staples. I wish these things for you. I had a dream, I cornered it and talked it into living with me. I named it Blissglass.  It’s a glorious life when the moments of it tick on by and you take the time to smile and wave as it goes.