I am now 72 years old. This is a moving and humbling truth for me. After all, no one is guaranteed the gift of “old age.” I have fended for myself in this life, without family, since I was 16; 56 years in total; a long time.

I often think of the line in John Lennon’s song, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” No such thing as a more accurate statement, in my view

My message to myself and to all of us, no matter our age, is a simple one. Remember to live. Don’t miss the beautiful sunset or sunrise, the sound of birds in Spring, the music, books, art you love. If you genuinely love someone, family member, friend, more than friend, give yourself permission to tell them, to say so.

Create a bucket list if that would help. This is not help you need, it is help you deserve.

Last, but far from least, there is kindness, compassion, forgiveness, along with the acceptance of others to consider. 

Some of us, for reasons not of our own making,  experience the act of being kind or forgiving as signs of weakness. Wrong. If being kind and forgiving is weak, what makes it so hard for so many to be kind and forgiving. The fear of being thought of as weak by your peers threatens with a gnarled hand.

Be strong. Be kind. Remember to live.