Today is my father’s birthday, June 12. He would have been 97 today if he hadn’t died about 12 years ago. In thinking about his passing which some people wouldn’t call untimely since he was 85 years old, I am reminded of others whose passing could be called untimely. Our friend, Judi Blake was in her 50’s when she died suddenly in her sleep, another friend, also named Judy is nearing her transition at a relatively young age. I once performed unsuccessful CPR on a fellow worker who was 32. We recently heard about a small child who succumbed to leukemia. I bring up all this to remind myself that we come into this human existence with a finite “time” in the “bank of this Life”. When we are young, we spend it unconsciously, if not recklessly, because it feels like we are immortal. But, as we continue to age, we begin to grasp the importance of time in all of it’s contexts. When I passed 50 years, I realized that realistically, my bank account of time was at least 50% empty. As I approach 70, about 75% has been spent, with luck. We never know how much time we are each allotted. Each day represents a “draw” from our “time” account without being able to check the balance. We can’t save some time for a rainy day – it gets spent whether or not we want to. We could lock ourselves in a dark room for 24 hours, not doing anything and it would still get lived. So my lesson for today is to spend each day by living fully, totally present, enjoying each moment as the rich and precious gem that it is. Our dear friend, Mari, wrote us yesterday. It was her birthday. Her words touched us deeply and I would like to share them with you.
"It is my birthday today, so I am taking the opportunity to move slowly and listen more closely than usual to "what wants to happen" today."
Good words to live by.....Larry
