Sunday Morning Sermon - Dec 29 2013
It is said that the last period of human life is supposed to be the years after 65. That puts us all into the departure lounge automatically, holding on to our boarding passes
, hopefully without any shakes
.
My Mum turns 95 in Feb if she makes it to that date. Skanda's Mum is also in her early 90's. Am not sure of how many other
Randy 8
Mums are still around. If they are, then they must also be in their 90's, too. Bless them all for having produced peeps like us!
Growing old can be satisfying but also sad. My Mum is losing her memory and forgetting people, places and events. Lately this year she
has
also
been
showing signs of physical difficulty in moving around and has had two falls already
,
causing cuts and
requiring stitches
to
her head.
Y
et, she still insists that she can manage her affairs by herself. At least she has the ability to convey this to us, her three children, which tells us that while she is being stubborn she still has her free will and open mind to express herself
openly as she wants to
.
really
wants to grow old? In our mind's eye we see "old" as being a negative thing...though once you add years to your age "old" keeps getting, well, older. "It's just a number!"
is what some choose accept and believe in, especially
those who've crossed the threshold
already
.
Is it necessary
to retrain ourselves to think of "old" in a different
light?
we
conjured up a picture of what "old" looks like when
we
were
kids?
I remember Mr Barrow an d Mrs Spillers
who lived in and around our neighborhood back in Colombo in the 50's
? They looked as if they were one step from becoming a piece of petrified wood when I was, say, 5 years old. But the older
we
bec
a
me
ed, strangely
.
we
, really? Are there people our age who look older than
us
? Are there people our age who look younger than
us
? Look at those around who are our age. Are people our age getting around more, doing more, experiencing life more than
us
?
o or what
do
we
want to
be,
by the time
we get to 70,
80, 90,
or
100? "One hundred?" you say? Sure, why not.
Lets just make sure we get whatever we want done, that's all. No need to huff and puff about it. Life's just a roller coaster ride that takes us up and down. Whether it all started with Elvis Presley sideburns and a brylcream bump of hair on top of our forehead, capping gals, hanging around bus stands, Sunday movies at the Savoy, Sundown Dances at the Coconut Grove, and moving on to professions, careers, fancy cars, businesses, marriage, kids, homes, and even grand kids now, it doesn't really matter as long as one has done it all rightly or wrongly and pulled through the long and winding road of life to where we are at today.
I have stopped attaching myself to material possessions, ownership of assets, fancy cars, designer attire, real estate, and worrying about what to do next with whatever is accumulating in the bank. Shirani and I have transferred all our assets to the girls and only have the clothes in our cupboard plus whatever I make by consulting fees which gets credited to my bank account every month. This suffices us for our day to day living and also supporting the grand kids in many of their academic and personal needs. The girls have their own income and choose to live as they please.
And it is also better not to leave behind, any, "wrongs" that need to be made "right". It's good to set them straight right now before the last train calls at the station to take us back home.
Information is available in plenty on Google. Browse the net and make use of it. Learning something we didnt know before never stops, and is also very entertaining and productive. Helps to stay in sync with the grand kids too when they talk high tech. They also respect us when they know that we also know what they know, especially within the areas of interest in their domain. And surely they have so much to learn from our experiences, too. My grandson listens to all my tall tales, while driving him around, and asks 20 questions all the time. He once even asked me if I ever smoked pot? I couldn't tell a lie. ;-)
And of course, lets always think positive, share, and stay alive and kicking as best as we can. Helps a lot when you have crossed 65. Not sure what it will be like, if and when we do get to 69, since it is a nice number as you all will surely agree?
Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment