大象传媒

From comedian & writer Paul Kerensa:聽
I recently turned 40 鈥� as I鈥檓 reminded daily by the shelf of cards... plus one or two 4th birthday cards with a zero added in biro. The greetings card industry see our lives divided into certain landmarks: 18, 21, 40, 65, 100... But friends ask: do I feel 40? Well yes but I鈥檝e felt 40 for years. And back when I was 21 鈥� yeah, I felt 40 then too.聽
Age markers aren鈥檛 my landmarks. My life鈥檚 chapter headings 鈥� moments with a clear 鈥榖efore鈥� and 鈥榓fter鈥� 鈥� certainly include the biggies: the birth of our firstborn, or when I met my first wife (my only wife, I think she鈥檇 prefer me to call her). But there are other life-changing waypoints. My teenage decision to become a Christian. In my twenties, my first taste of coffee. In my thirties, my first TV writing job 鈥� on Lee Mack sitcom Not Going Out. We launched same night as a documentary, called 鈥楾he Sitcom is Dead鈥�, which claimed The Office had killed off studio sitcoms. So we soldiered on 鈥� rose to the challenge.聽
Those pivotal moments feel significant, I think not because of what life throws at us, but how we react. Not every job change, not every new hot drink is memorable 鈥� but like the caffeine in my first taste of coffee, the reaction came from within me. That change may be for better or worse. And while I don鈥檛 picture life with a Michael Sheen-ish angel or David Tennant-esque demon as in Good Omens, I have faith in something bigger and beyond. So prayer helps me when the world throws me a curveball, when I need help running with it.聽
Baptist teacher Oswald Chambers wrote a century ago: 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 so true that 鈥榩rayer changes things鈥�, as that 鈥榩rayer changes me and I change things鈥�.鈥� Whether we pray, meditate, or just reflect before acting, I reckon we鈥檙e the authors of our own chapter headings, not the greetings cards companies. Our decisive moments dictate our destiny 鈥� as a great philosopher once said: 鈥淲hen you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never. Those were the best days of my life, Back in the鈥︹�� 鈥�oh I forget the rest. Must be my age. I am 40 now you know.