Middle age seems to bring clarity to life … and I’m saying “middle age” because, heck, 108 ain’t no big thang in today’s world, is it?! In the Starbucks line this morning to get my hot chocolate, despite the warm weather outside, I had my car radio going, and a local radio station droned on about a contest they’re running in which listeners who put together clues win prizes … big-screen TVs, vacations, the like. The contestant on the phone was whispering to the DJ. The DJ, in turn, wanted to know why.
“I’m at work,” the woman contestant whispered loudly, as if that was an obvious reason to sound rather silly on a local radio show that certainly is heard everywhere in her area … and if her boss, for example, were also listening, said boss would know her voice even as a whisper.
No matter, Whispering Contestant continued on in a hush-hush tone, and the DJ continued on, trying not to laugh but not being successful. DJ asked questions, Whispering Contestant gave answers … and lo and behold, she won the big-screen TV. Congratulations!
Somehow, it all seemed rather sad to me. Whispering Contestant was at work, apparently at a corporate-type job she cared not-that-much about because she wasn’t following rules—she couldn’t have been or else she wouldn’t have had to whisper to make a call to get a consumer-based prize she maybe, or maybe not, could afford to buy because of the salary coming in every week from said job. Yet the job IS important because, well, it pays bills and she obviously wouldn’t have been whispering if she didn’t care about losing said job.
Bottom line, my Moment of Clarity came just before I got to the Starbucks speaker about 11:50 AM EST. Timing’s important because this decision to go get a hot chocolate came in the middle of my workday morning … and I went for it. Period. And I didn’t whisper into the speaker when it was my turn to give my order. Granted, I wasn’t in line to win a big-screen TV—just buy a hot chocolate—but still, I didn’t feel the need to mask the fact that I was doing just that.
So go for it, people. Take a stand. Have your own Moment of Clarity. Be famous … whether you’re 54 or 45, or 108. No whispering, okay? Go for whatever brass ring is at your fingertips and do it with bravery and determination that no one will take it from you if they find out you’re reaching.
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