I recently met a man who had lost the one and only true love of his life. He’s a very nice old man who when you meet him seems to be the happy go lucky type. But, you see him there sitting all alone, watching TV or rocking on his front porch and you think. Once this man was a young vibrant person all full of spit and vinegar and now he’s down to watching his stories on TV, and rocking his remaining days away in an old rocking chair on his front porch. His kids are all grown with lives of their own, hardly ever stopping by to see him. You wonder, how many days go by that this poor soul doesn’t utter a word out loud. He’s the candy wrapper of life, discarded by those who should love him most. Yet his still sharp mind hold a library full of information dating back to the early part of the 20th century, what stories this man could recount, what experiences he has had and all the things that could be learned form him if only there was a student or two. To those younger he seems a burden something that has to be done like a chore. Why do we treat those with some much to offer like they mean nothing to us?
Now don’t get me wrong, not everyone treats their elders this way but I hate to see such a resource wasted like that. Day after day that resource slips closer and closer to that beyond us all. Once gone, all that he knew goes with him. A lifetime of learning, and living, experiencing is lost forever. What a shame that we waste something so precious. Is there no room in a busy life for something so valuable?
Take note my friends, if you have grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts still, spend some time with them. Appreciate them and listen carefully to what they have to say learn form their mistakes and listen to their advice, it could save you worlds of hurt and heartache of your own. Remember to return to them the love they have so selflessly bestowed upon you. For was they who paved the way for your very existence. It was they who suffered the slings and arrows so you, hopefully, wouldn’t have to.
