“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans” is a quote that is generally attributed to John Lennon and one that has caught the attention of a lot of folks. I suspect it hits closer to home for us seniors that have miles of life experiences in a very fast paced world today. I was fortunate to have a great loving childhood and grew up in a post war period as a free-range kid. We neighborhood kids and cousins never strayed too far from our home bases, however, and we were smart enough to return home for meals and when the street lights came on at night.
But then as life moved along, the pace definitely picked
up. Early adulthood had real serious
studies, full-time jobs, marriages, children and travel without even a
consideration that life hours were being consumed at such a furious pace. And all the while, parents were aging,
grandparents were dying, children were becoming young adults and we began to
experience wear and tear on our bodies.
All of a sudden, the words of golfer Lee Trevino resonated; “The body
can no longer cash the checks the mind writes!”
Suddenly, we began to experience the passing of some of our
peers from schools we had attended and parents began to pass without anyone to
hold their hand and say a prayer together.
Grandchildren appeared to soften the losses and retirement presented a
respite from the merry-go-round of life as it slowed and allowed us to step off
and reflect.
That reflection time finally gives us pause to look in the
rearview mirror and dimly see that life has happened all the while we were
engaged in the daily battle of home mortgages, business travel, soccer games, school
events, constantly foraging for food, keeping the yard and vehicles maintained,
hours being consumed by television and social media apps, and a myriad of other
time absorbing black holes. All the
while the circle of life continued its relentless pace as the earth circled
around the sun and nature soldiered on whether or not we chose to go along and
enjoy the ride. Understanding that we were not created to simply exist, but to live life to the fullest.
And if we’re fortunate enough to still be breathing by this
time, perhaps we can finally look back—not on the days, but on the significant moments
of our life and smile.
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