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| Power |
One of the things I’ve come to
understand as I rapidly increase the count of years to my credit is the importance
of the simple things in life. As a young man I was bound and determined to get
out and see the world. This impatience with the familiar world I’d grown up with
may turn out to be one of the fundamental regrets of my life. Regret is not an
apt term for what I’m trying to express because I’ve been blessed in my life
with the people I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter in that escape process.
It’s a young man’s doom to yearn and
strive for the greener pastures of the unknown without properly respecting the
verdant quality he’s already surrounded by. My youthful journeys took me to the
ends of the earth but I find myself back pretty much where I started because I
came to realize the value of what I’d hastily abandoned. It’s not all about the
place, it’s the people. The simple connection of lifelong friends and more importantly
family are what’s truly important and fulfilling in life. I think of my closest
friends as family and that has made all the difference. I would rather spend an
evening sitting with a group of family laughing than accomplishing something
momentous at work.
I know someone reading this might think
I’ve gone into some sort of Zen like fugue but these elder years have provided
some perspective. You take some time to look back and assess what’s important in
life. What makes you genuinely happy? Walking down a sidewalk and having my
granddaughter reach up to hold my hand is a genuine thrill. It’s a different but
no less profound elation from when that well remembered college sweetheart
first reached for my hand or my wife of more than 35 years laces her fingers
with mine walking into the grocery store. That essential connection between
people who care for one another cannot be underestimated or undervalued.
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