{"id":6181,"date":"2020-03-29T11:31:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T11:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jameswmfrank.commemoratemylife.me\/?p=6181"},"modified":"2020-03-29T11:31:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T11:31:15","slug":"seventy-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jameswmfrank.commemoratemylife.me\/?p=6181","title":{"rendered":"Seventy-Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Today I reach the end of my seventy-second year and begin my\nseventy-third. My best friend and lover sleeps. I habitually write. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Pop was this age when I was twelve. That\u2019s right. Pop was\nsixty when I was born. In today\u2019s coronavirus world, he and I could be sacrificed\nfor the survival of younger generations. Times have not only changed, but there\nis also now a paradigm shift like none other in recent history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examining the past to find direction for the future seems to\nfail to provide answers today. There are those who dwell on the past as if repeatedly\nrevisiting it will somehow bring solace to their anxiety of fear of failure and\nloss. Especially, in times of crisis, MY go-to for peace of mind is hope for\nthe future and gratitude for the present. How else can you leave the woodpile\nhigher than the way you found it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoy having huge, scary goals. Especially the ones when I\nhear some parenting message in my head asking sarcastically, what makes you think\nyou can do that, kind of goals. Putting my focus on where I am headed not only\ngives me a path to follow, it examples for others the confidence they need to define\ntheir vision for their future. As is often announced by elders, be the example\nyou want to see in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings me to this incredible day. Grateful, I am, for having\nmy health, being safe, loved and in love, and other than some inconveniences,\nhaving the best days of my life so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, this comes with some reflection and evaluation of\nthe present moment. My last sibling brother passed very recently. My only child\nwas taken by Cystic Fibrosis a couple of years back. That puts this birthday as\nsomewhat special for the memory banks. No immediate family member will ever\ncall to wish me a happy birthday. This is not a lament, simply an observation. By\nnow, I have folks from far off continents remembering and sending birthday greetings\nout of love and respect, rather than obligation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happiness can be so relative. Mostly, the word is associated\nwith an event that brought some feelings of bliss. But how often have you been\nable to say day after day, I am the happiest I have been in my life? For me,\nliving the dream is not a trite message of contraire. Several times each day I\nfind myself requesting a cosmic pinch to question my reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you find yourself muttering, lucky you, I remind you\nof a line by the Rock in a recent movie. His childhood friend remarked that he\nhad been much less physically fit in high school and asked how he had gotten so\nbuff. His answer: I worked out 6 hours a day, seven days a week, for the last thirty\nyears. As we all learn in life, it goes Dream, Struggle, Prize and the Struggles\nprovide the contrast needed to verily give contentment to the prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the world resolves the latest crisis, a previous world will\nslip into repeated sound bites. Rapid change is inevitable. Bills Gates book\n1999, Business at the Speed of Thought comes to mind. The elders who have\nlearned to embrace accelerated change may be the thought leaders of today and\nas well, the encouragers for the current arriving generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be safe and responsible for yourself and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Birthday to me! Seventy-two successful trips around\nthe sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your friend in life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I reach the end of my seventy-second year and begin my seventy-third. My best friend and lover sleeps. I habitually write. My Pop was this age when I was twelve. That\u2019s right. Pop was sixty when I was born. In today\u2019s coronavirus world, he and I could be sacrificed for the survival of younger … <\/p>\n

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