My father turns 70 years young today.
At the beginning of this month, my grandfather (on my mother’s side) turned 85 years.
Both share the same first name, but what is more important:
Both enter their final stage of life.
It’s a fact, and I hate it.
I hate to see ’em pass away; it’s inevitable. That’s why I still practice “letting go.” Every day that I wake up, where I don’t hear about a death in my family (or a friend’s life), is a good day—no matter how much other shiat I may experience during the day.
It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
What really matters is how we’ve impacted other people. To be exact, how we made them feel about themselves.
Take a look at these quotes:
People don’t care what you know until they know what you care”
–JOHN C. MAXWELL
And:
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
–MAYA ANGELOU
Time is limited—and the clock is ticking.
This reminded me of an article or book I once read. Don’t remember the author, not the title… It’s about the perspective that we are all born wealthy. More specifically, time-rich.
We grow up with the most amount of time we’ll ever have. As time passes so does our wealth (and the remaining time on this planet to use it for whatever we like). Then, there are controllable (and uncontrollable) factors that determine how long we’ll actually live.
One thing is certain: Every single one of us is gonna die. Sooner or later.
The real question is, “How happy will you be in your 70s or 80s looking back on your life?”
If you don’t like what you’re seeing, change your actions.
Even a small act of kindness can make a huge impact on another person’s life.
Never forget that.
