Sunday, January 24, 2010

100 YEARS

Another decade has passed us by.  The first month of the new year, gone.  To say that time flies is a huge understatement.  Heck, I'm 45 already – that's almost half a century old.

 

I heard this line – or something close to this line – on Ray Romano's new show, Men of a Certain Age: "...in 100 years there'll be all new people."  And I don't know why, but it just hit me – in 100 years there will be all new people.  Not only won't I be here in 100 years, but NO ONE I currently know will be here, either.  Now I don't know what you call that.  A sobering thought?  A humbling realization?  At the very least, it should certainly be an eye-opener.

 

Life is short.  Time is fleeting.  We've all heard this over and over again.  But the thing is, it's true – and we need to enjoy life while we're here.  I'm not saying party like it's… like it's… 2099 (necessary update; but think about that for a moment.  When Prince's song first came out in October of 1982, 1999 seemed like a lifetime away and now it's already 2010.)  Nor am I saying to throw all caution to the wind with wild abandon (although, if you are going to throw caution to the wind, it probably should be with wild abandon – just makes sense).  And I'm not saying to shirk all responsibility and live life high on the hog (I don't even know what that means, really. Somebody get Wilbur on the line…).  I'm actually suggesting just the opposite – more of a 'stop and smell the roses' type of thing.  Why not live with 'an attitude of gratitude,' as they say, and appreciate all the things we have TODAY.  Most of us have it pretty good – even those who don't think they do, do.

 

With the holiday season already far behind us (more unnecessary support for the trite time flying theory), I think back to one night in particular.  As I sat in an outdoor shopping/dining area (hey, Scottsdale, AZ) waiting for a friend, I watched many people coming and going.  Most weren't speaking.  Some couples looked like they were barely tolerating each other.  Others looked to be mad at the world.  And others still walked by as if on auto-pilot.  Of those actually interacting, they did so mostly with the aid of an electronic device – texting and tweeting into cyberspace – ignoring those physically in their presence. 

 

Why is it that, these days, so many people need to be plugged-in and entertained by external stimuli?  Why does contentment seem to be an elusive thing of the past?  I don't think it has to be.

 

The past is gone and the future is quickly slipping into the past – one minute at a time, like sand grains in an hourglass.  I think people need to wake up, appreciate what they have and be content with the little things.  The clock is ticking, and in 100 years from now there'll be all new people so…

 

Enjoy life –

 M.  

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