I
think the older my kids get the more I like them. It was hard to like them back
when they refused to listen to me, or when they thought they could wear a
T-shirt for 12 days running.
Now
even if they don’t want to hear what I say, they’re still old enough to listen
and then tell me I’m wrong. I tell you what, the older I get the more I like
getting old. Why didn’t someone tell me about this sooner?
You
get older and you don’t give a shit about what your hair looks like or whether
or not you should wear a sleeveless shirt. You drink wine until your teeth turn
blue and you watch things like America’s Funniest Videos over and over again.
I am
here to tell you whether or not you make mountains of money or cook the best
food or buy the best car doesn’t matter in the least. But then again, this is
all I know. I could of course be wrong. But ask my kids and they’ll tell you
I’m never wrong. I’ve always stood by that.
It’s
amazing what happens when you get old. It’s like I’m just waiting for the next
great thing. I already know I can wear sandals and not completely clip my
toenails perfectly. I can skip makeup and not care what anyone thinks when I
wear a T-shirt when a blouse is in order.
Basically, I now care nothing about what
anyone thinks about anything I’ve done in the past or what I will do in the
future. This, my friends, is freedom. And all it takes to achieve it is a few
years. I intend for this to be akin to smoking pot for the first time or
attaining the four truths. I have found the secret of life. It’s to stop giving
a shit about anything remotely concerned with yourself.
You
should care about other people, just not yourself. That’s what all that
Buddha/Jesus/ Muhammad/Zen stuff is all about. When they say lose yourself they
really mean stop wearing eyeliner and start asking your neighbor how their day
is going. It’s really that simple. I may have stumbled upon something here.
For
years I’ve worried about how to lose myself. I don’t know what that means and
the whole thing has tormented me. I think now, in my advanced age, I get it. I should
care more about not only all the horrible stuff on CNN, but I should also care
about the people on my street, in my town, in my state, in the world. All those
people who are hurting for whatever reason, they are now on my radar. And I’ll
tell you what, I feel like my radar goes far and wide.
We’ve
got to lift them all up in prayer, no matter who or how that prayer transmits. We’re
all out there now and we all know each other through the “Internet.” If we’re
this close and we’re all brothers and sisters and we’re all supposed to love
each other, it’s way past time to take that to heart.
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