Reece Gardner: The passage of time
Just a brief comment before I get to the heart of my Column today: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released new guidelines stating that people who have had both doses of the Covid-19 will no longer have to quarantine as a result of being exposed to someone with confirmed Covid-19.
Folks, that is encouraging news!
Today I want to talk about the passage of time and how we handle it. Life is NOT about how far we can go, how high we can jump, or how much weight we carry. Life IS about family, friendships, experiences, and memories. We all suffer heartbreaks over such things as losing a loved one or seeing a child suffer, but broken hearts can give us strength, understanding and compassion toward ourselves and others, and help us to appreciate life's peaceful moments.
A few years ago I received an email from Mildred Contrearas, and in poetic form she talked about the winter of her life. Here is some of what she said: "Where did the years go? I well remember seeing older people through the years, and thinking that they were years away from me. But here it is...many of my friends have retired and are now those older folks I used to see and thought I would never be. But though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last, I know that when it's over on earth, a new adventure will begin!"
Ms. Contrearas then added this: "There are things I wish I hadn't done, and things I wish I would have done, but it's all in a lifetime. So if you're not in your winter yet, just know that it will be here faster than you think." There are lessons to be learned from her presentation, just as from the thoughts of others, such as from Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who said this: " Life is not measured by a number of years; rather, it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; As young as your courage, as old as your fear.
As young as your hope, as old as your despair. In everyone's heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives messages of Hope, Courage, and Faith, so long are you young. But when the wires are all down, and the heart is filled with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then, and then only, have you grown old." So, Folks, whatever we want to accomplish in life, we should do it quickly, because we can never be sure whether this is our winter or not. So let's try to say all the things we want our loved ones to remember, and tell them how much we love and appreciate them for all the things they have done for us over the years. Now for some parting thoughts:
Today is the oldest you've ever been, yet the youngest you'll ever be. Many of the things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore. But "old" is good in many things, like Old movies, Old songs, and, best of all, Old friends.
And finally let's remember that life is a gift to us. The WAY we live it is our gift to those who come after us. It's not what we GATHER but what we SCATTER that tells what kind of life we have lived. HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY!
