Like Grains of Sand...

 I once heard a celebrity say (and it pains me to be quoting a celebrity---please believe that!) that her Dad told her "When you start getting too big for your britches and thinking you're something special, go to the beach.  As you sit there, looking at the vastness of the ocean and the billions of tiny grains of sand, realize how insignificant you really are in the world."   Pretty humbling, I'd say!

Humility is an attribute I hope to have, as I age.   Our older generation deserves our respect... even a reverence .... but I'm beginning to believe that it can be pretty easy to slip from humility to a bit of narcissism as we age.   An "I've put my time in so I deserve it" attitude.  "This is my world, and you're just living in it" tone.  And I really hope that I'll be more humble than that.   

The older folks that I admire the most are the ones who still show a genuine interest in others...they want to know how you're doing...what you're up to...  They aren't so consumed with their own problems...and, many times, they have plenty.  But their interest in others makes it a joy to see them.  And I so want to be like them.

The nearest beach is hundreds of miles away.  I wish it was closer so I could sit there, like that wise father suggested...being reminded that,  in the big picture,  I'm just like one of those little grains of sand... hopefully, I'll be one who has a sincere interest in others.

P.S. And we all knew it would start sometime --- the subject of health....and talking about it. It comes up a lot in our age group now.  We're all interested in each other but I think that it'd be a great idea to make a pledge that we limit ourselves to talk about our health and the problems we're experiencing with it, for two minutes.  That's the limit.  Two minutes!  It's not that I'm hard-hearted or not interested. It's just that everybody's got something going on in their lives.  And wouldn't it be better to spend our time, conversing about positive things?

You've got to hold me to it... Deal?  Deal!