Youth In The Eyes Of The Dying

Nothing in this life is guaranteed except that we will die. We think we have control, but we really do not for the most part. Our thoughts and perspective we steer but beyond that all else can be striped out of our hands. A youthful, inquisitive, joyful mind slays the demon of this gauntlet. This is the lesson I learned this week. From meeting the real Doc Hollywood, to spending thought provoking conversation with a beautiful woman out to change the world for the better, to the drunk forcing his way into a family’s conversation at a birthday meal, this week I learned the importance of being young at heart.

My friend managed to arrange for Dr. Neil Shulman, professor, medical doctor, author of Doc Hollywood, but more importantly advocate of the being young at heart, to come talk about humor and medicine. I jumped at the occasion…sat front and center and even got up and told a joke myself. His messages were quite simple: 1) Stay young at heart, 2) Mend your passion(s) with medicine when possible, 3) Do not lose your sense of humor, and finally 4) Do not take yourself so seriously. With humor, circumstances become manageable. With being young at heart, life doesn’t shine it sparkles.

Today was a day of polar opposites and as such the message amplified all the more. For a late lunch, I met a very wonderful, beautiful person. She reminded me of the importance of maintaining an inquisitive, child-like perspective of the world we traverse. The good in her radiates in such a way to be contagious in the most epidemic of ways.
Her eyes kindle a fire of hope and prosperity for all. A purpose determined by opening one’s heart and allowing life to take you up. I left this late lunch and conversation with an uplifted feeling. At the moment it still carries me despite the ‘fun’ to follow. For dinner, I met up with a good friend and her parents for her birthday. During the course of an awesome dinner, a rather out-spoken man and his date sat next to us. He quite rudely injected himself into our conversations time after time. At one point he reminded that the NSA (National Security Agency) has ears everywhere. I wanted to tell him, “No shit, perhaps I should drive up the street and knock on their door and ask them,” but I remained in reserve. As if his interruptions weren’t enough, he later went on to insult the truck I drive, my intelligence, my character, etcetera…all except insulting my truck seem to be a going theme in my life right now. I wish I could say I provoked the guy, but I didn’t say a damn thing to him. I guess the child in him was crying out for help as he poured the alcohol down to silence the screams. I pitied the man, and I hope he finds his way back to his childhood.