A Meeting That Could Change the World

The Catholic Pope visited Cuba awhile back. At that time he also spoke to a joint session of Congress and the American people. This powerful man spoke about his concern for the poor, the children and the earth itself. 

Politically, he made a major contribution to help heal the relationship between Cuba and the USA. In his talk to Congress, he appealed to everyone to find a way to be more cooperative. 

Of the many human and political topics he spoke to, he added this one that referenced religion, "A delicate balance is required to

combat violence perpetrated in the name of a 

religion, an ideology or an economic system ..."

When I analyzed that statement I found that he was asking something that has not been possible for centuries. Capitalists and Communists meeting to find ways to cooperate? That got me to thinking.

What the Pope was suggesting is that the opposed factions that have political economic theories, and even religions with different dogma can meet and, somehow, overcome their differences. I see that as one of the most difficult things to do in the entire world. But if he was sincere and if he believes it's possible, then I would welcome his suggestion. 

The Pope seems to be the only human being who was making an effort to improve, not only his flock, but the world. I believe that with his inspired message and his good heart, he could make a difference in the entire world situation.

Our most significant problems are the differences between major world religions. Just as he appealed to the USA and Cuba to live in peace, I think he is obligated to attempt the same thing with the other religious leaders. I mean no disrespect for this fine man when I say that. If his comments represent a willingness to see an honest attempt being made by warring factions, then I am all for it. 

Here's my thought and my hope. The three major religions have been at war for more than two thousand years. The Pope will convene what I am calling, "The meeting that could change the world". The Pope should ask the leaders from Judaism and Islam to join him for a world summit. The meetings would be held in each of three cities - Rome, Jerusalem and Mecca. They would agree that they are all in the same business - seeking peace and aiding humanity. 

The agenda should be the very same that any psychologist worth her salt would recommend to a troubled individual. Forget the past hurts and injustices you may feel, let's forgive and decide to live in peace. 

Now THAT would be a meeting that could change the world!

What's Good About Growing Old?

          

This December will be my 89th birthday. As I have grown older, I've found that celebrating my birthdays didn’t seem to make much sense anymore. Looking at the actuarial tables made me feel that I had already been blessed with more years than I dreamed I could have. So, early on, I decided to redefine the whole birthday thing.

I decided that if I reached the age of seventy, I would reset my

counter and start counting all over again. On my 70th, I would celebrate my actual birth.  Any year after that, would be

considered as a bonus year of life, and therefore, worth celebrating. And that’s exactly what I’ve done. My daughter Rachel arranged for the family to celebrate a real "birth" day party on my 70th.

My birthday scheme has been great fun. On my 71st Birthday, I celebrated being 1 year old, along with age-appropriate gifts. On my 72nd, I was two years old and so on. Each year would prompt more funny ideas for gifts. It has turned my birthdays into events worth looking forward to.

In December I will celebrate my 19th Birthday - Holy Smokes! That means I have been on this earth for eight decades! That’s a lot of time to have been blessed with the miracle of life and I am very grateful for every day of it.

Since I’ve become such an old guy, I think it may be time for me to say something about the aging process. Some of my friends tell me that they can see nothing good about getting old. They feel betrayed by the promise of “Golden Years”. I’ve found that there are actually many good things about getting this old. No, really, it’s true.

Yes, getting older can bring some difficulties into our lives, but that is true for us at any age, right? We have to face our troubles in the same way we always have. It is not the problems we are given, but how we choose to react to the challenges. 

And don't think for a minute, that anyone escapes having problems. Everyone we meet is trying to deal with their own private little "nightmare". The real test of our character is the way in which we handle our nightmare. It’s not what happens to us that makes the difference, but our reaction to what is happening. I would like to remind my friends, both young and old, that life is mostly a matter of the choices we've made.

In these later years, I have found that there can be some valuable advantages. For one thing, there is now a lot of time available for us to do those things that there had not been time for before. 

Earning a living and raising a family takes up most of our time when we are young. Once that’s done, though, there is plenty of time for other things. All you have to do is decide on what things make you happy and then spend your time doing them.

You may be surprised to learn that becoming old will release different kinds of energy and capacities in you. The years will have allowed you to become adept at many things. You will probably be a much better student than you were in school years ago. There is lots of time to take courses or even going back to school.

You will find that you now have an ability to control things that would have distracted you at an earlier age. You will be able to make much better decisions, making life a little easier than before. You will have learned from all of those years about the most valuable things in life - the things that really matter - love, faith, friends, family, kindness, generosity and forgiveness.

And there’s more. Aging actually enhances many of our senses. Feelings of joy and love are more intense and more enjoyable than ever. You learn how to laugh at yourself and how foolish it is to take things too seriously. You learn that the best way to feel good about yourself is to help others. I believe that when we are helping others we are at our happiest and are living our life to its fullest.

There is also a bonus for oldsters, as well. People will actually begin to see you as wise person. How’s that? Really, it happens, and I’ll tell you how. 

All of life is truly cyclical. Patterns repeat themselves over and over. Because of the number of years that you will have lived, you are able to recall similar patterns formed by things that have happened in the past. Just like the phases of the moon, the yearly seasons or the ebb and flow of the tides, life works with repeating cycles. So when an old person sees a “new” thing happening, he pretty much has seen it happen before. 

This gives older people a very big advantage. Because they are able to recognize a previous pattern, they can anticipate things even before they happen. They can remember what people were saying and the decisions they were making. Looking back like that, an older person can even tell what the eventual outcome was and is likely to be now. It's kinda like being able to tell the future. 

Isn’t it nice to know that as you age, many will come to see you as a really old wise guy - er, a wise old person?