Life is a one-way ticket. This has been a well-known truth to thoughtful people in every age and society on earth. Oh, some young people may deceive themselves into believing that they’ll be here forever…but age tempers that notion soon enough.Some people say that we are born alone and we will die alone. I suppose that’s true, depending on how we connect with other people. To be connected to others makes our existence seem not so alone.
It seems to me that, in the journey of our lives, all we can really take with us is our connections to other people. Those that share the same time with us seem more connected to us than those much younger or much older. They have their own generations to feel connected to.
I know that I seem to relate to folks closer to my age easier than those much older or much younger. To talk with someone who remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot is more rewarding in some ways than talking to someone who only knows it as a page in a history book. We have more to talk about because we have faced the same issues in our time. That doesn’t mean that it’s not rewarding to talk to older people at all. They have a different perspective…one well worth listening to as far as I’m concerned. Young people also have much they can teach us…if we’re willing to listen. No, what I’m talking about is feeling a little more connected to people who have seen some of the same things in life.
In the last week Whitney Houston died. I never saw her in person. I only heard her recorded voice electronically. She was an absolutely amazing talent! Her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” still sends chills through me. The woman had a true gift from God.
I note her passing because she was one I felt more connected to as a fellow traveler in this journey of life. While I may admire Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin among others, they were not in my generation. They had their own fellow travelers. Ms. Houston was a part of mine.
There have been other musicians, actors, and public personalities that I felt connected to as being a part of my time on earth. I’ve noted their passing as fellow travelers too. John Denver is one who comes to mind as a great influence on me. Each in his or her own way made me feel…not so alone in life. Whitney did that. She added something to life. Life will be missing something without her. I feel for her loved ones…they, no doubt, feel her loss so much more sharply. I will say a prayer for them.
I begin to understand why some people I’ve known in their 80’s, 90’s and even in their hundreds feel…ready to move on. They’ve lost most, or all, around them that made them feel connected to their age.
I used to think I would never feel disconnected from young people. I thought I would always ‘get it’ about some new fad or trend. I realize now what older people have been talking about all my life. I just don’t understand some things the younger generation is into!!
I still like the old ways of doing some things. I’ve always liked antiques because they made me feel connected to the past in some way. Blacksmithing does that for me.
While other people are obsessed with the ‘next thing’ in technology…I couldn’t care less about electronic gadgets and the like.
It seems a shame to me that in our ‘rush to the future’ we are losing something of our past. I guess it’s just nice to talk to someone near my age that still remembers, and appreciates, older ways of doing things; someone who remembers where they were when... Some days I feel my age more than others.
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