Many things are not strictly necessary for survival… yet still elevate our lives and impart joy and meaning.
I’m coming up on a third of my way into my 8th decade and it has been a good life with few regrets. I’ve chosen commerce as a profession and I’m more than content with that. I still go to the office daily, still working even though I’ve blown past 5 traditional retirement ages (62, 65, 67, 70, and 72) and will likely go past some more.
And yet… with the passing of the years, I do so more cherish ‘life’s extras’: the morning walk in the woods before the morning’s chill burns off, the smiles of a passing stranger, comradery of friends and friends to be, the blue sky above, the smell of rain hitting hot pavement, the sight of Old Glory in the breeze, the joy of sweat from good exercise, a tasty meal savored slowly…
I no doubt valued these in my younger years too but not so sweetly, not so dearly.
Closing Quotes:
“No king has a throne better than a bench covered with autumn leaves.” – Mehmet Murat Idan
“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” – Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 AD, Roman emperor, Stoic philosopher
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832