Life can have a slow reveal over decades. A favorite Muhammad Ali quote of mine is that: “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” My appreciation for this quote has grown as I’ve reexamined the path of my life. No, I’m not navel-gazing, nor am I maudlin. It’s just that you can’t rescind a life, and most of us would prefer not to repeat past errors.
If it were easy to change, we’d all live lives of gracious decorum, moral uprightness and be staid “pillars of our community” – it’s just not as simple as declaring a new doctrine -“I’ll never do that again!”
I may appear as a sort of rusty relic with gray hair, but there is no arbitrary point in life where you get to laugh and pat yourself on the back for a life completed and well-lived. So a certain amount of striving to correct your behavior and path in life is required even if you have grey hair.
I know on reflection that I have a lot to rectify in how I deal with people; patterns in life established while young that I’ve learned to regret. It’s as Socrates states – the unexamined life is not worth living. I believe that he made this statement during his trial, just before his life ended. Hopefully, we have a bit more leisure to examine ours.
Well said Louis. Thanks for joining in 🙂 🙂
Beautifully put. Mistakes are precious gifts to those who live intentionally evolving.
Lovely sentiments, Lou.
You wouldn’t expect it for a boxer but Ali said lots that appeals to me, too.
Without our mistakes we are unable to learn from them.
I really enjoyed this one…. Right on the mark!
I’ve been examining mine since I was seven. I looked around and wondered to myself what had gone so very wrong. Now I see the gifts in all of it. It’s been an E-ticket ride and I think when you look back, it all had a reason to be just as it was. Certainly not a boring life. I’d rather have those rowdy times than a boring, between the lines life. No regrets. Enjoyed this. I can’t keep up with you but I try to get to as many as I possibly can.
Boring is to be avoided. I think the majority of people set their goals to the boring setting, and get through life never knowing what they’ve missed. Introspection is a great aid in understanding what’s gone on in your life. To just let it go by without questioning or appreciating seems a great tragedy to me. Thanks for reading my posts, Marlene!
You are quite welcome, Lou. I wish I could get more of them read but we are hustling here to get my place ready to sell. You always write an entertaining story. 🙂