Perspective on 50, Fire and Ice.

It’s my birthday this month and I'm celebrating a milestone year. Fifty years on this earth, half a century. I feel so very lucky to be here, to be alive and to have the privilege of getting older. When I was younger I was wild and reckless. I got sober in my late 20's and I'm convinced I wouldn't be here if I had continued drinking.

My entire perspective on ageing has been hugely shaped by my birth date, the 13th of March.

On 13th March 1996 a gunman shot dead 16 children in Dunblane primary school. As a student I lived in Dunblane for a while and on this particular 13th of March, my friend was late arriving at my flat because of road closures in Dunblane. It felt very close to home and personal and it has shaped my life in a way that I would never have imagined.

Every year on my birthday I think about those children and their lives un-lived, the birthdays they would never have and the impact on their families and community.

I am so very grateful to be 50. I embraced my grey hair in my early 40’s and my wrinkles are testimony to too much time laughing in the sunshine, scowling during covid and too many late nights reading books without my glasses.

We waste so much of our time worrying about what other people think of us. I read recently that on average 10 people will cry at your funeral. I say to you, no-one cares what you are doing so please, embrace life with arms and heart wide open.

We never know what is around the corner and it’s so much better to make glorious and messy mistakes, to fail and pick yourself back up, to succeed occasionally and to spend time doing things you truly love because life is so very short and precious.

It’s not the things we do in life that we regret the most, it's the opportunities we didn’t take.

Towards the end of last year I decided that I wanted to raise at least ￡5000 for charity to mark my birthday. I deliver firewalks with so many amazing charities across the country who all make a huge impact on the world, whether that be hospice care, supporting young homeless people or young people with additional support needs.

I decided that I would run a marathon to celebrate 50 and being fit and healthy enough to do this. Then I met Judith King

Jude is the only person I know who has a more exciting job than I do. She is the Scottish fundraiser for When You Wish Upon a Star who grant wishes to children (and their families) who have life limiting conditions. She told me about their amazing work and their Arctic Challenge. So, it transpires that instead of running a marathon, I will be trekking 65k across the arctic circle in January 2025 with Lee Peyton to raise funds for this amazing charity.

I cannot think of anything worse than losing a child and this feels like a very fitting way to make a difference in the world and celebrate my 50th year. One that gives me an incredible challenge and memories but one that also allows families to create memories with their wee ones.

If you’d like to buy me a coffee for my birthday You can make a donation here…..

https://www.justgiving.com/page/lee-walls-1709210231138

Coming up....

My next Brave conversation is on the 1st of April at 7.30pm it's free and this month the theme is perimenopause, fitting for 50.

https://leewalls.podia.com/daf29001-a0f9-4c13-b85e-eb75b4964034

I'm collaborating with the fabulous Susan Perry Speaker Coach to deliver Fear to Fabulous, a day of overcoming fear of public speaking.

https://leewalls.podia.com/fear-to-fabulous-in-person-event