My CMS The View from a New City

I recently watched a YouTube commentator waxing wise about the things people fret over during their lives which they realize, upon reaching 70, were not worth the effort. The list included such things as social status and career.

The other day I was talking with a neighbor who is suffering from several age related maladies. I commented that we would obviously not be running any more marathons together. I noted that as those words came across my lips , i felt not a hint of regret. I later reflected upon the point, in my last marathon, where I was suffering the pain that inevitably comes toward the end of that race. I said to myself, ” you better enjoy this last three miles, because you are never going to be twenty-three miles into a run again in your life.”

The later stages of life reveal certain truths. One such truth is that their are things which can only be accomplished by the young. Obviously, you have to bear your children while you can. To my descendants I would say, if you have a choice and if you waste that period of your life only pursuing worldly status, or a ‘career,’ you will eventually have regrets.