Long life is a gift from GOD. Good health is an additional blessing. Money can buy you the best health care, but it doesn’t guarantee long life.
I am now a senior citizen 60+ and starting the next phase of my life; retirement. Now that I don’t have to punch the clock to get a pay check I have time to reflect and punch the key boards.
If I could do it all over again, I don’t know if I would change it, because it all led me to this point. Maybe, I can give you something to change the direction of your life, by sharing some things I learned along the way.
I love watching good movies. A relevant story or even a song can make an impact, if you are ready to let it affect you. You may have seen the movie” The Family That Preys “. The basic story is about two older women (good friends for over 20 years) and their families. One woman, Alice, played by Alfre Woodard, sacrificed a lot for her two daughters, and missed a lot of life, to support them. The other woman who was wealthy, Charlotte, played by Kathy Bates talked her good friend Alice into joining her on a road trip. But she didn’t tell her friend that she had an illness that would end her life in a brief period.
As they started their road trip, the dying woman asked her good friend a question a couple of times, “Alice are you living, or are you just existent? On the car radio in the background, and during the end credits were these words to this song:
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. You get your fill to eat, but always keep your hungry.
May you never take one single breath for granted? God forbid love ever leave you empty handed. I hope you still feel small, standing by the ocean.
When one door closes, I hope another always opens. And when you get to chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. I hope you dance. I hope you never fear the mountains in the distance, or settle for the path of least resistance.
Living might mean taking chances, but they are worth the taking. Love might be a mistake, but it’s worth the making. Give heaven more than a second glance, and if you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. I hope you dance.
After 40+ years of work, retirement is great. Not punching the clock (retirement) is a great feeling. But if someone showed me how to make enough money to retire early, I would have jumped on that a long time ago. If I had enough money I would be working on my bucket list. I’m not there yet.
As a two-time military veteran, college grad, decent husband, and caring father, what will be my legacy be, outside my immediate family? The heroes that I read about, made differences in other people’s lives: people like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, and Les Brown. If I introduced you to some of their friends and a cash flow system that made you money, would you do the same for others?
My mom who never had much money, worked (took the bus) into her 80′s. I think it helped her to live longer. She lived to be 90 years young. I knew she gave birth to 14 but the fact that she was the last of 33, is why I do, what I do. Who is going to write about your family history?
I now have 60+ years of life experience, if you are a senior you should have 60+ years of life experience also. If all you want to do is sit on the porch, don’t, because they will be carrying you away soon. Get off your butt if you can, and do something while you can.
Speak to the younger folks, if they will listen. Get some of these young folks to show you how to get started on the internet. Just remember that MONEY TALKS and BS WALKS.
This had been straight talk, beast mode. What will it take for you to get
up off the couch or your rocking chair?
H.G.M.
Internet comments
Alesha
Hey there Earl, love this post! My dad is 65 years old, swims laps in the morning, cycles and runs like he’s in his twenties. There are no excuses!
Earl Hackett
Thanks for your comments Alesha. I wondered why they called it the “golden years”. Maybe some poet was thinking of golden hair. I think gray or bald is a little more accurate. (Most people don’t have a pile of gold). I prefer to think that with age, comes wisdom. For the few that get a chance to put it in writing, it’s a chance to drop nuggets of gold, from a lifetime of experience.
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