I do not plan to waste away or fade away. I intend to live each day fully until the very end. Retirement always seemed a strange concept to me. It is something for those people who have worked for a lifetime at a job to support a family or to make a great deal of money. Money is the motivator and retirement is the reward.
During my own lifetime, I have done those things that brought me joy until I grew tired and moved on to the next thing that made me feel truly alive. While I have done what I loved doing, none of those things has brought me an enormous amount of money; however, I have always had enough for the moment. I have always had a roof over my head and I have not gone hungry for more than a few hours. If you were to ask me if I was satisfied, I would have to respond with a yes. If you asked me if I would prefer to have more, I would answer with an overwhelming yes. Still, while I believe in the quality of life, I do not believe that quality is dependent on material quantity. I have had a quality life. I have remained true to myself and followed my own inner promptings. Like everyone, I have made mistakes, but my life has also served as a blessing in many ways.
As another birthday approaches, I can no longer deny the fact that my body is clearly aging. It is aging much faster than I would like, but having witnessed so many whose lives have come to a standstill, I know that I do not wish to go down that road. I see so many who are overweight. They have to use walkers and several are in wheel chairs. Granted, they are a bit older than me – but only by about a decade. They spend their days watching television and most are inactive, for most of the time. There next step in life is the nursing home. I refuse to join the ranks of these people. While my body grows old, I know that my soul is ageless.
I defy anything that would prevent me from leaving this life with my dignity intact. I allow those people who are my age and older, who are still sharing their gifts with the world and who are still finding fulfillment in their reason for being, to be my inspiration. I choose to be inspired each day so that when I take my final step and breathe my final breath, my face reflects the joy and peace of a life well lived.
