It's Time for Us to Grow Up and Become Mature Adults

Whenever I asked my late mother how she was feeling, she always replied – even in her ninth decade – that no matter her age, she felt the same inside as she did when she was a teenager. I admit that I also experienced that feeling most of my life, until an incident a few weeks ago.

I was at a large luncheon-book signing for my recently released book, and was photographed, as my mother would say, “Six ways from Sunday.” When I received a full set of the photos for publicity purposes, I had no alternative but to admit, “Well now, I am old.” Since in my family we tend to be totally grey by our forties, I had long since come to peace with my hair color. Also, I had decided years ago that how I lived was more important than resisting the natural aging process. But, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

I was surprised by the extra poundage, the double chin and the wrinkles – in addition to the grey hair that now defined me externally. Naturally, I mourned the loss of youth, but I soon realized that I still felt the same way inside, which was a remarkable gift. I also knew immediately that this was a wake-up call.

There were two important messages I gleaned from this situation: First was the reality that life on Earth is not forever, and I had only an uncertain number of years left to complete my life’s purpose, for which I desired optimal health and well-being. This meant finally getting with the program and losing my laxity concerning diet, exercise and nutrition. And second, the sad realization that I had let so much of my precious time on Earth go by before I was motivated to grow up, look at my life and take full responsibility for it.

If you look around, you will notice that being a grownup and taking responsibility for our lives isn’t a well-known or widely practiced concept. This is due pretty much to the fact that we live in a society in which the prevailing thinking is that our needs should be met by others, such as our families, our mates, our doctors, our jobs or the government. The error in that thinking is that in order to buy into it, we must relinquish our power, becoming totally dependent on them or “it” to take care of our needs. This approach is diametrically opposed to growing into a mentally, emotionally and spiritually mature human being.

We are facing a critical point in human history with all the attendant anxiety, fear and uncertainties, and we’d all rather talk about something less foreboding; me too. But it is patently obvious that it is time for us to answer humanity’s evolutionary call to grow up. In order for us to safely and peacefully negotiate this time, we will need far more conscious, aware and mature adults.

How to do that in today’s world seemed a mystery until a number of visionary authors and speakers focused on this theme, and now millions of individuals around the globe have discovered the real and inherently natural way to grow into spiritually mature adults. And it has nothing to do with erasing wrinkles or liver spots. By turning within and connecting with the eternal and sublime energy within us, which we call God, we discover the source of unconditional love, peace, wisdom, guidance and support that is every person’s birthright and heart’s desire.

Once we align ourselves with this energy-wisdom, the natural maturation process is evoked and we are led to become grownup human beings, which has always been the evolutionary plan for humanity. We then automatically seek to create better lives and a better world.

It is up to us. We can be like Scarlett O’Hara and choose to think about all the changes and challenges tomorrow, which means hoping they will go away and we won’t have to think of them at all. Or, we can take the journey within, grow up, and help co-create a glorious future for ourselves, humanity and our planet. Time and tide wait for no man – or woman – whether we’re blessed with the bloom of youth or the symbols of wisdom and experience.
_________________________________
Copyright 2009 by Fern Stewart Welch

[The information on how to connect with God can be found in the author’s book “The Heart Knows the Way,” and at www.FernStewartWelch.com.]

The author’s books: “Tea with Elisabeth,” “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World” and “The Heart Knows the Way – How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within” are available to readers from Amazon.com, other online booksellers, bookstore chains, such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, and to the trade from Ingram Book Co., Baker & Taylor and other wholesalers.