Memories

[Wag]

Funny how a series of events can culminate to bring about some thoughts. This evening, I plugged, "The Green Mile," into the DVD player. One of the very early scenes is of the elderly gentlemen watching an old Fred Astair movie and triggering memories of his own which brought him to tears.

It got me started thinking that when we're that old in life and our phyisical abilities become more and more limited, pretty much all we have left are our memories and our minds. It made me think, "What memories am I storing up for myself to fall back upon when those days creep up on me?"

Normally, I don't dwell on such things, but from time to time they come to me.

I look at the memories I have now and while there are a few moments which I don't care to relive much, for the most part, my memories bring me a great deal of happiness and joy. A large part of that comes from this board and from the rides I've been on from time to time. Those are great memories.

Not sure, completely, where I'm going with this. Just reflecting......

--Wag--

[mike1180]

I have a saying from a 90 year old man,
- don't know where I got it, but right along the lines of what you are saying.
I liked it so I saved it:

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

[Takeuon]

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

That's good!

[TruWrecks]

I like that. My account is running quite low right now.

[dadofthree]

[wardie]

Memories are the years we left behind, like so much still water it was once the way we were..... keep makin' them every day. Wardie

[mrsBusawhipped]

I have a saying from a 90 year old man,
- don't know where I got it, but right along the lines of what you are saying.
I liked it so I saved it:

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

[Wag]

I still can really figure out the right way to say this. It'll be too wordy, really, to fully express the thought If you know a lot about me and my background, it may make more sense.

Near the end of, "The Green Mile," John Coffey is sitting in the electric chair and he said, "I'm sorry for what I am."

To me, that is the most heart-wrenching statement in the movie. Sadly, as I reflected on it, I realize that there are all too many people who feel the same way. They are sorry for who they are. Maybe not consciously, but in the way they behave and think, and the way the compromise on their values it shows.

Part of my thought process included my reflections on Don's passing. That was a man with many happy memories and a man who continually made his life better and made the lives of those around him better. I never met him in real life and I feel that's a tragedy in itself.

On the other hand, it seems that he lived a life worth celebrating and that, to me, is something to aspire to do.

--Wag--