5 women who inspired me to live a meanignful life

YOGA on the GO members!

When I turned 50, five years ago, it felt like a big deal. Why fifty? Why was it that one that needed to be highlighted for me? I’m not quite sure… maybe because for my 40th I had just had a baby a few weeks prior so that turned out to be a different kind of wonderful birthday. 😉🫣 So when 50 came around, I felt I wanted to do something to “mark” the event.  Not only 1 thing… I took on several activities to mark 1/2 a century on this earth.  One thing I felt compelled to do was to ask ladies I admired that were older than me several questions about life, moving through their 50’s and beyond. I had so many questions. I wanted to know what made them such vibrant, lovely humans and have the qualities I looked up to. So, I channelled my Barbara Walters, put on my pencil skirt, grabbed my clipboard with a list of questions and interviewed 6 women -  from each decade older than me. (50 - 60 - 70 - 80 - 90). It was amazing to talk to them, ask them my questions and more importantly have them share their wisdom with me. What really struck me was how similar many of their common traits and beliefs were even though all these women are quite different with very distinct personalities. 

HERE WE GO...  

THREE - TWO - ONE

THREE first women I interviewed to learn about life. 

1. I sat down with a wonderful lady I met through Tennis. She always has a smile, a kindness and softness to her while also having spunk and a great sense of humour that I like. In her 70’s (at the time), she shared with me some heartaches she experienced throughout her life. She said she had been a bit of a rebel growing-up and she wishes she had not caused her parents so much grief. This was a little shocking to me - to see her now, you would not believe some of the stories she shared about her younger years that went well into her adult years. 

Her advice to me:  

Don’t waste too much energy on finances or what will happen to your children / grand-children. 

What she wanted to impart to me was that her faith saved her. She used her faith, love and family as her compass and now she lives life to serve others and to make herself helpful, to help people who need her. 

She enjoys and is grateful for the things that bring her joy such as a good meal, her family, tennis. 

When asked how she wanted to be remembered: 

Very humbly said she doesn’t want to be the centre of attention, wants to be the person that was around and did what she could to help others. 

2.  My second interviewee was in her 60’s at the time. A wonderful cheerful woman whom I played Tennis with throughout the years. She always wears cheerful colours and looks so pleasant and is well spoken. She is an avid reader so it’s not difficult to understand why she is so easy to strike a conversation with because she is knowledgeable about so many topics. She also shared her heart aches and challenges throughout her adult life when her life took a turn that she had not seen coming or anticipated, finding the need to rediscover herself while raising her family. 

Her advice to me:

Don’t waste too much energy on finances. 

Have a faith the Universe, it has a plan for you - trust that. 

Don’t define things that are not based on longevity. Find joy in things you can do for years to come. Example YOGA. I’m not sure she knows this - SHE is one of the first people that made me consider getting certified so that I could teach YOGA at all ages to people of all ages. 

Find love in many forms so you don’t have to depend on others for love.  

When asked how she wanted to be remembered: 

In one of her journals when she was much younger it said she wanted to be remembered as being joyful.  She journals and has been doing so most of her life. Journaling - music to my ears. Noted - keep journaling. ✅

3.  My third interviewee - Someone near and dear to my heart in her 80’s chose to answer the questions in writing - which doesn’t surprise me - that is more her style.  Taking time to reflect and formulate her answers in a deep thoughtful way is on point. What she said brought her the most joy and purpose was being useful to others and finding opportunities to share experiences, beliefs and ideas with others in a meaningful way. 

Her advice to me:: Discover and know yourself. Take time to sort out the type of person you are, change what is identified as obstacles, decide who you wish to become and plan how to develop your potential. Inner peace, serenity and happiness ensue from the congruency between the who, what and how. No surprise, this is when I started to meditate. ✅

When asked how she wanted to be remembered: 

As someone who cared about and for others. 

TWO women I interviewed that I look(ed) up to so much! 

Coincidence? They are mother and daughter - the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… Also the youngest and oldest person I interviewed. 

1- Let’s start with the youngest 

A friend for years, just old enough to be that much ahead of me in life stages so that I could learn from her. Her demeanour, generosity and kind heart are unmatched.  Being her friend is both a wonderful thing and a curse 😉 She is a wonderful baker, a mother that any child would dream of having and has the kindest heart I have ever met. So, because she was already in her fifties, I needed to include her in my questions to learn even more how she experiences life. 

Her advice to me:

Not to worry about having wordly adventures, every day and phases of life are adventures. Focus on love and being loved - it will get you through anything. Don’t worry so much about the path your children will take or how they are doing. All they need is guidance, love and support. 

When asked how she wanted to be remembered:

As a kind person, someone people can count on, positive and honest that finds the positive in people. 

2- The oldest person I interviewed. One of my all-time favourite people.  

Born in 1923 - She was 95.5 when I interviewed her. 

Faith - family - health are the most important things she has learned to cherish. 

Lived through war, the depression and through it all, kept educating herself, constantly read the paper and always wanted to be useful and help others in need. She has no regrets and said she enjoyed every stages of her life as blessings, even the ones that came with sorrow, as those are what have brought her to today. To this day, she still had big Thanksgiving dinners with family members sitting around the table enjoying a big turkey and her wonderful cooking. She was a great baker and made delicious pies (I’ve said it before, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). 

Her advice to me:

Look around and step in when you know you can ease someone’s burdens. Keep your faith close to your heart. Your faith will make you whole. Worrying about getting older doesn’t serve anyone.  Worrying about scarcity doesn’t serve anyone either. You make do and be grateful for what you have.

When asked how she wanted to be remembered: We laughed so much at this point… 😂🤣 She said:

I couldn't care less.  Meaning it is just not important what others think of you. It is what you did and how useful you were that is important. 

ONE more person I interviewed that I have admired for over 20 years.

She was in her 80’s at the time. 

We have been fortunate to be part of her life for the past 24 years. I have learned a lot from her through the years. Mostly, I think she should get the “patent” for the saying that became so popular. "Just Carry-on”. No matter what she has lived through, she keeps going with poise. Not much time for "poor me". She has had her share of heartaches, health issues and of course worrying for her family members. Through it all, she is independent, clever, reads a lot and helps many people in her own quiet way. She does not like to make a fuss of anything - good or bad. She is a life-long learner. My kids say she is so “hip” and always seems to be able to have a conversation about very relevant topics. Her wisdom has often been shared with me through her words and actions.  

Her advice to me:

50? She laughs, that’s nothing. 😉 You seem to be doing fine and already on the right track. A loving home with family activities. Do fun things with your family and don't worry too much about what needs to get done or finances. Not to take life too seriously. 

When asked how she wanted to be remembered:

Kindly was her answer. ☺️

After 5 years of pondering, learning and stressing about how to write this BLOG worthy of these amazing women… I never wrote it!!!  What keeps ringing in my ears is my 95 year old friend who told me when we met for this interview… to hurry up and write this BLOG before she turns 100! I didn’t and she passed away a few years ago without reading the BLOG. 😔😩  This is when procrastinating really hurts. Why didn’t I write the BLOG as promised for my 50th birthday? 

Lessons learned from these women as I reflect on them on the eve of turning 55: 

Don’t procrastinate… sometimes done is better than perfect! 

It is never too late to learn as these women have taught me in their own way. Be a lifelong learner… 

Be useful - help others

Be kind

Don’t take life too seriously

Don’t worry about finances too much

Find things that you love that you can enjoy throughout your life that you can enjoy no matter how old you get

Find love in many forms so that you don’t have to depend on someone else for love

Trust that there is a path for you - you don’t need to know what it is just trust there is one

ALL of these women value their faith, kindness, integrity and family as being most important attributes to have a purposeful life. 

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Have a great week! 

For any questions, feedback or input, please comment or send me an email here. I would love to hear from you. 

Lynn xo