I've decided Natasha Bedingfield's, "Unwritten," (by Natasha, Danielle Brisebois, and Wayne Rodrigues) is my theme song.
I was lukewarm about the song until I listened to the lyrics and thought to myself, "How did she know?" - they so accurately reflect how I feel in these days sliding down to my empty nest and fiftieth birthday.
Of course, I think the lyrics can speak to anyone, male or female, of any age - it's about experiencing life, following dreams, not being afraid to make some mistakes along the way. It's about being in charge of your own life, discovering who you are every day, taking chances. It doesn't necessarily mean running away from the life you already have - just learning to look at it with fresh eyes each morning, to recognize opportunities or blessings that appear in your path, to think about the choices you can make to keep growing.
The analogy of life as a blank page, waiting to be written, was the clincher for me...
I am unwritten
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way, no
