Only when we were kids

This is a material I have kept over the years. I don’t even have any idea who wrote this but no doubt he or she must have been a genius.

This is all about age and aging. Think about this.

Do you realize the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? Consider the following. If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

“How old are you?”

“I’m four and a half.”

You’re never 36 and a half.... You’re four and a half going on 5.

You get into your teens; now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number.

“How old are you?” “I’m gonna be 16.” You could be 12, but you’re gonna be 16. Then the great day of your life; you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. You BECOME 21....Yes!!

Then you turn 30. What happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. The local thing you hear is your age would soon disappear from the calendar. What’s wrong? What changed?

You BECOME 21; you TURN 30. Then you’re PUSHING 40.... Stay over there. You REACH 50.

Just by the way you see the terms used to describe each stage of your life gives you a sneak peak as to the kind of mindset associated with each phase.

You BECOME 21; you TURN 30; You’re PUSHING 40; you REACH 50; then you MAKE IT to 60.

By then you’ve built up so much speed, you HIT 70. After that, it’s a day by day thing. You HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s; you HIT lunch, you HIT 4:30. Somebody says: “My Grandmother won’t even buy green bananas. She’s not sure she’s got enough time to wait for it to ripen.” And it doesn’t end there.... Into the 90s, you start going backwards. “I was JUST 92.”

Then a strange thing happens; if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. “I’m 100 and a half.”

Somebody once said, “It’s not the number of years in your life that counts; it is the life you put into the years that matter.”

I believe so.

Here I am in the not-so-young-anymore stage of my life. Things begin to change.

There are more hospital visits I have to make. There are more funerals I have to attend but it’s just a comfort knowing they are not mine.

I tend to look at life with hope though. There are just so many more things I still can do. So many people to reach out to and so many opportunities to make my life matter.

Do not be bored. Do not give up.

There are a lot of people in their 50s who give up and get depressed, which is not a good thing at all. They feel they have not attained their dreams and that life has passed them by.

May I suggest you dress your best, fix yourself up, get out of your room and look for someone with a need and help that person. Others start pouring their interest on a hobby and find themselves excited with the new life adventure. This is the best way to deal with depression.

Don’t lose the fire. Whatever it is, make yourself productive.

Your life matters and there is always someone out there you can help.

Volunteer for church work, mentor young people. Do some consultancy work and start to feel like a kid again.

Bring the giggle back to your life. Learn to laugh and play once more and enjoy the gift that God has given. This is what life is all about.

(Send your high potential leaders and experience two inspiring days with Francis Kong learning leadership and life skills in his widely acclaimed Level Up Leadership this Oct. 27-28 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09178985010 or call 632-6310912 or 6310660 for details.)