As I awaken at 66

As I awaken this morning, on my 66th birthday, I realized that I have grown older and my age will seem to accelerate from now on.   Although a few have stayed in good spirits and lucid, I have seen some of my relatives and friends grow cynical, absent minded, distant and unconnected, intolerant and some downright mean.  I thought of what I would hope for in my behavior if I could get what I want for the rest of my life, so I made a brief list of some of my hopes.

·         I hope to have the opportunity to share with family and friends what I have learned, felt and experienced and to learn from what they have to share.

·         I hope to have the opportunity to learn something new every day, to help someone every day, and to make at least one person happy every day.

·         I hope not to lose the excitement of my dreams and hope that I continue to appreciate both the flowers and the fruit of my life.

·         I hope to never lose the joy of questioning everything and hope not to grow into the painful trap of questioning everything.

·         I hope to get visitors to the dusty museum in my brain. The displays may not be interesting, but they mean a lot to me and displaying them keeps the loneliness away.

·         I hope the end doesn’t come before I finish reading all the books I would like to read.

·         I hope to survive my own stupidity so I can keep growing older and wiser.

·         I hope that I will appreciate getting old as much as I appreciate living long.

·         I hope to be sympathetic with my friends without being sentimental of our past.

·         I hope not become cynical because being old and cynical is worse than being old and frail.

·         I hope I can recognize the talents in people and have the common sense to tell them so.

·         I hope for the patience to listen and endure the complaints of other’s ailments and have the wisdom to keep quiet of my own.

·         I hope for humility and to be less confident when the things I remember are different from what others remember and hope that I recognize the cases when my memory is wrong.

·         I hope not to become a harsh person and to keep my attitude gentle and kind.

·         I hope to be alive and lucid in 25 years.