Maybe it's just the way we're wired, but it's not until later in life (yes, older ;-) that we begin to realize what is truly important in day to day life.
Maybe this has allowed us to survive by keeping us focused on short term goals like food and shelter. Someday I'll have time to take some college courses and ask people much smarter than me about human evolution. But for now, I'll trust my instincts and experiences. Another trait I've only picked up in recent years.
Now that I"m getting close to retirement, the world seems both infinitely larger and yet somehow very small and close. Things that seemed so important before can just wait. It's too easy to get sucked into the abyss of information highway, politics, work drama.
The lawn will be there tomorrow, I'm going to sit on the patio and read. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it, ruining the enjoyment later. Yep, used to do that all the time. Now I don't have to try so hard to enjoy a few moments of solitude or playing cards with friends or watching 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' for the 100th time. (Yes, the original version is the best SciFi movie every made. ;-)
If I could pass along some advice to younger men it would include:
- your family is your responsibility, don't let them down
- your family needs you to work hard and then come home and relax, play some baseball and joke around
- the world will continue to spin just fine without you, so take breaks during the day and let it
- the world needs you to be a good man. it also needs you to enjoy life in order to be a good man
- plan for the future. check your plan once in while and adjust life/work if you need to. then go have some fun
- support your friends when they need it. pay attention to their lives and make sure they know you care
Give yourself a break.
To be happy, just relax a little more and enjoy being alive.
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