Today I am completing my seventy fifth year here on planet earth. Frankly, I never anticipated making it this far, considering my family history. But, here I am on the green side of the grass.
Being around for the better part of a century one would suspect that I have gathered some wisdom along the way. So, what wisdom do I have to pass along after three quarters of a Century? Well, please indulge me as I reflect and pass on a few thoughts. They are in no particular order.
Always learn things and be curious. A young person once asked my why I read books that require me to have a dictionary at close hand? I replied that I couldn’t imagine reading something that didn’t require me to have a dictionary. Sometimes I surprise myself with a pearl of wisdom. Of course now we have Google.
Keep moving. One of Newton’s Laws is that an object in motion will stay in motion and a body at rest will stay at rest. I believe that is the case with our bodies as well. The longer we move the longer we stay on the green side of the grass.
Embrace the bad and tough times. Crap happens in every life. It’s not necessarily the end when challenging things happen and it probably isn’t the end. At the times when bad things happened, I thought I was pretty special. I thought I was facing a unique tragedy that others have never faced. I thought that I would be forever crippled, no end or good will come of this. Well, if you muscle through it, if you think through tactics and strategies, if you gather the right support team, there is an end. And you will come to a better place. Going through the tough times and truly has made me a convicted Christian. Again, I am not unique or special; everyone I meet with seventy five or more years has gone through rough times and have come out the other side to a better place.
When I look over the pearls of wisdom that I offered above; I come to the conclusion that they are all pretty lame. So what is the conclusion to be drawn? I would like to offer that life is a path. Take care of yourself the best you can, learn as much as you can to get the most out of life and handle the crappy times because they will come. But, most of all have some fun. After all, we are not here for a test drive.
Last evening Tina gathered a number of our friends here in Bluffton at our place to celebrate my birthday. I did make the observation that I don’t have a great deal of wisdom to offer. I made a toast to the crappy times that got us all to the good times. I have wound up in a good place. As far as I am aware, I am in in descent health, I have a wonderful wife, great kids, I live in a beautiful community and have a wealth of friends.
Backpacking Bill 