I believe that every day of one’s life, it should be lived to its fullest extent. For example, I was recently given the privilege to drive my lovely wife to the west side of Indianapolis to a well-known restaurant. She periodically gets together with some of the ladies she formerly worked with. These ladies worked together, side by side, for over three decades. I also wanted to pop in and see some of my wife’s friends. She was capable of driving herself to the occasion. But navigating Interstate 465 is not for the faint of heart. So she asked me to drive her to the affair.
They shared many memories. Not only memories of work, but many family intimacies, about family births, deaths, weddings and graduations. They also discussed their many successes and their failures. I was like a fly on the wall listening to these ladies recounting story after story of business accomplishments. Stories of their joys and sorrows of life’s precious moments, reverently talking of fellow workers who have long since passed. Some in the group had suffered personal grief due to the loss of a spouse or a child.
One thing I did observe was that all of these ladies had one thing in common. Like you and I, they are simply average folk who had a job to do. They accomplished some amazing feats in helping one of America’s giant corporations to thrive and succeed.
For my vocation, I chose teaching. I loved it, and I still teach part time. In 1905, George Bernard Shaw wrote a stage play. From the play came a truncated axiom that goes something like this: “Those who can do; those who can’t teach.”
This is unequivocally not true, for you see, many great teachers were also “doers”: Einstein, Currie, Robert Oppenheimer and J. K. Rowling just to name a few. I occasionally get together with teachers I have taught with. Some live in the area; others do not. But, we all had one thing in common. We were “charged” with educating that who sat in our classroom to the best of our ability. Like my wife’s retired friends, we were just average ordinary people. We had a job to do, and we did it to the best of our God-given ability.
Just this morning, I was reminded of another dear friend. She is a neighbor who we have lived near for over four decades. We have watched her children grown up to lead successful lives. We have also seen the devastation in her life when she recently lost her husband, who was also our good friend. Her husband was a veteran, serving in the Vietnam War.
I believe that one should live life to its fullest and establish and cultivate lifelong friends. Enjoy their fellowship now, and later on in your life. My admonition to students I taught was quite simplistic. Work hard and study hard; enjoy your fellowship, albeit with the right kind of friends. Life is truly like a vapor. It is written in James 4:14 “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (The American Patriots Bible).
Another lifelong friend is my son. I recently ran across this tribute to a son. “Son, I closed my eyes for but a moment and suddenly a man stood where a boy used to be. I may not carry you now in my arms. But I will always carry you in my heart. You have given me so many reasons to be proud of the man you have become. But, the proudest moment for me is telling others you are my son. I love you now and forever.”
I especially enjoy the quote attributed to Will Rogers. It is inscribed on his statue in Oklahoma. It simply says “I never met a man I didn’t like.” I doubt that Will Rogers ever belonged to an Optimist Club. But he certainly was an Optimist in spirit.
I consider myself an Eternal Optimist. I try to see the good in every living creature. Several years ago, I had the privilege of being the president of the Castleton Optimist Club. The Optimist Creed is titled, “Promise Yourself.” In part, the creed says, “To make all of your friends feel that there is something in them.” It further states that you have “NO TIME to criticize others.” But the absolute best part of the creed says, “Wear a cheerful countenance AT ALL TIMES, and give every living creature you see a “SMILE.”
So my admonition is to enjoy old friends and cultivate new friends. Remember the good times and try not to dwell on the bad times. Enjoy the fellowship that family and friends provide and do live life to the fullest.
