This Month's Mission

What I Know for Sure
Getting older is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wake up every morning rejoicing that I'm still here with an opportunity to begin again and be better.

I awaken to a morning prayer of thanks posted on my bathroom wall from Marianne Williamson's book Illuminata. I think about all those who didn't make it to 51 and were claimed to a different calling before they realized the beauty and wonder and majesty of life on earth. Or—in some ways worse—those who reach this age without an appreciation for the value of each breath.

I know for sure that every day holds within it the gift of seeing the world through the Creator's eyes. Some days the challenges of daily existence weigh on our ability to see it, but today I could. Watching the Maui sun rising, turning the sky the color of newly ripened peaches, I knew that I was connected to a power greater than myself—that I need only slow down and get still enough to let the flow that is all life carry me to the next level.

After 20 years of doing shows, I continue to seek to be used for a purpose greater than I know. I consider it a living blessing and privilege to have this opportunity to be in people's homes every day, to uplift, encourage, inform, and entertain. I know this is a calling for me, but I feel the greater work is yet to come. I'm feeling more like myself than ever. What Maya Angelou predicted was true: Your 50s are everything you were meant to be.

I find I have little tolerance now for pettiness and superficial pursuits. There's a wealth that has nothing to do with dollars, that comes from the perspective and wisdom of paying attention to your life. It has everything to teach you. And what I know for sure is that the joy of learning well is the greatest reward.