From Married to the SeaBut I am indeed "just some chick", who happens to blog. I'm not yet struggling with the "why am I here" question as Cap'n Noise is wont to do. It's an occasional ponder, yes.
I read about the couple - Pat and Cat - who shirked the possession thing and biked around the world. What Pat had to say has stuck with me:
"Pat says that, more than anything, biking around the world has changed what he values in life. Pat admits that when he was in his 30s his philosophy could be summed up as, "The one that dies with the most money wins." But, once he started making money, he realized he had to find a way to spend it. By the time he reached his 40s, his philosophy had become, "The one that dies with the most toys wins."
"So, I had the cars and the things," Pat explains, "and then, about that time, I took off out into the world on my own for a bike ride, and decided it was experiences; the one that dies with the most experiences wins."
As Pat was preparing for his trip with Catherine, he turned 60. He calls that birthday, and the change in mindset it brought, "a biggie." His philosophy became, "The one that dies with the most friends wins."
"I'm realizing what it's going to be in my 70s, and that's different. It will be 'The one with the most memories wins.' "
Whoa. Profound and simple stuff, here.
The one that dies with the most money wins.
Have never cottoned to this, nor like those who do.
The one that dies with the most toys wins.
Ok, I may like a few toys, but it's not my idea of "winning".
The one that dies with the most experiences wins.
I know a few who roll this way, and I roll with them occasionally.
The one that dies with the most friends wins.
I've been here for a while. Do I win points for figgering it out way before 60?
The one that dies with the most memories wins.
Too many studies verify this. Do things to keep your brain engaged, and participate in the world, and you're less at risk for many health problems. The friends, the experiences, the toys - they collude to bring the stuff of life.
1 comment:
Somewhere back in the '70s I saw a segment on t.v. that featured a distinguished-looking elderly gentleman who must have been in his eighties. I don't remember the show or the purpose of the documentary, but I recall very clearly the words spoken in a well-educated british accent: "I hope to meet as many people as I can before I die."
I suppose that I don't really follow that system, but I remain struck by the humble honesty of the man, the curiosity and empathy that had served him so well for an entire lifetime.
Post a Comment