Saturday, December 30, 2006

Old old old old old old old old

I am 54 today.

I did nothing to celebrate or observe. I received some cards and one gift.

In medieval China, I've read, a man was expected to 'retire' from daily life when he reached a certain age and devote his intellectual energies to grokking the Tao.

('Grok,' by the way, is in the dictionary that came with my Mac.)

I don't know what that 'certain age' is, but I feel like I must be getting close to it. But I can't afford to retire from daily life unless we win the lottery tonight.

I see that many things once important to me are not so important now – I've mentioned that before. Some of this is because of my own efforts to break the wheel of samsara in my life. But it's also because, as I've gotten older, I've added experience and perspective in deciding what is important and what isn't.

Always looking my best in case I bump into Ms. Perfection? Not so important.

Naps? Important.

Personal branding? So not important.

Making sure the cats get fed? Important.

Thick full hair and blindingly white teeth? No so important.

Regularity? Important. Or at least desirable. Pleasant. 'Fun' would be too strong a word – especially with my feeble low-flush toilet.

Went to the RC tonight, and the place was packed. Mostly with people I didn't know. A family reunion, maybe. I came back home and turned 54 with the Internet.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

:::Thick full hair and blindingly white teeth? No so important.:::

I agree, though one cannot overestimate the value of thick full teeth and blindingly white hair.

HFB, my friend...

Anonymous said...

There is no "VALUE" in thick hair and white teeth. Nice to have, probably, but not worth a shit when you're hanging out on the metal table at the morgue. Love, tolerance and kindess are what seem to me to be important. The ripple effect of those things has a chance to live on. Bodies decompose (VERY ugly) and energy does not from what we can tell.

I wish I was as eloquent as you. I would like to say this all in a rock-your-world profound way. Oh well. Gotta go brush my teeth.

Happy birthday.

Nina said...

Happy Birthday and Happy Napping!!

Lark said...

Happy birthday, one day late!