Oh So Wise

I did it.
It took 80 years
But I did it.
I am wise
Oh, so wise.

I learned from the East:
Here is the only Now
Take naps
Love.
Be Lucky

I learned from the West:
Optimism
Keep trying
Have health insurance
Love. Be Lucky.

I learned from the poets:
Listen, feel, touch, taste
Remember, forget.
Be in awe.
Love. Be lucky.

I learned from my friends:
Take the high road
Vote right—left.
Be there—here
Love. Be Lucky.

I learned from the Jews:
To kvetch is human
To act, divine.
Love.
Be Lucky.

I learned from my children.
Mutual respect
Letting go
Forgiveness.
Love. Be lucky.

I learned from my husband:
Fearlessness, presence, laughter,
To love what is.
How easy
If you are lucky and he does the dishes.

I learned from the world:
Choose your place, carefully.
Chose your time, specifically.
And this above all
Be Lucky.

83 vs. 40

It was encouraging to be with a forty-year-old highly successful professional today who couldn't find his mouse, and said it gets worse every day. I am trying to convince myself that this has less to do with aging and more to do with the fact that we are all simply fragmented.

How dare they give us something new to learn every day. No brain was created to endure such treatment!