Like so many in the United States recently, I attended a production of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton.”  To say it was magnificent would be an understatement.  The words, the music, the singing, the dancing, the lighting…everything was enthralling, at least to this observer.  But maybe the best part, or at least what stood out to me, was the joy in the message.

Granted, there are sad parts in the show, but it’s history.  A history of an amazing time when people came together for a cause.  And while there was dissension, there was also a joy.  A joy in what they were doing. 

A joy in not letting anything, including age, get in the way of a goal.

I especially loved the recurring theme from the show of “I won’t give up my shot.”   I think that’s something we all need to hear from time to time. Because many of us 60+ baby boomers can start feeling like we are at the end of the road.  That there’s nothing significant ahead and we don’t have a lot to contribute.  It’s a feeling as though if you could just lie down and nap a bit, it would all be all right….but you never really come out of that “nap.”  You just succumb to a coma of sorts where you go through the motions, but you’re not really living.

You’re not on fire for anything. 

You’re not excited about each day. 

You’re not eager to explore, learn and discover.  To try new things.  To feel the joy that can be yours if you look for it.

We have to fight this foe as hard as any dressed in a uniform or yielding a sword.  And the hardest part is this foe is inside of us.  It’s a happy little blob settled inside our brains and it likes slowly getting its tentacles around our passions, like an old episode of Star Trek.

Enough!

None of us knows how long we will live.  We didn’t know it when we were 25 either.  So we could live to a ripe old 98.  We could meet the maker tomorrow.  And all that we truly have is right now.

Right this second.  That’s our reality.

So we have to get past this idea that time is somehow looming over us like an invading force, trying to squash whatever we want to do. 

No, it’s NOT too late to take up painting.  Always wanted to try ice carving?  Find a class and go.  Dreamed for years of living in Paris for one season?  Do an internet search for a chalet right now.  Wish you could be in love again?  Get yourself out there and flash that smile.  It’s the same one you had at 25. In fact, it’s better.

We all need a purpose…and it’s easy to feel you don’t have one when you have lots of time on your hands. But a purpose can be as simple as making sure to say a kind word every day to a neighbor who recently lost their spouse. Or fostering an elderly dog who’s spent too much time in the shelter. Or even playing brain games with yourself every morning to stay sharp.  A purpose doesn’t have to involve a major change in your life.  Simple is good.

Right now, today, is our “shot”…our opportunity to make something happen.  Or to at least make a plan.  Start researching a topic.  Get out our passports and think of where we want to go.  Clean off the table and get out the paintbrush and canvas.

As the unfortunate man on the cart said ala Monty Python, you’re not dead yet.

Let’s decide we’re not too old…in fact, considering how young we feel inside, maybe our age never really changes.  So our hearts, our zest for life, our joy at “our shot” doesn’t have to either.

Grandma Moses painted her first painting at 76.  Frank McCourt started writing at 65.  People jump out of airplanes in their 80s.  You don’t have to go that far…but you can take a “leap” and put yourself on an exciting new path.  

So take your shot.  Find your joy.  And rock that wrinkle!

“It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra

I confess, I am beginning to hate technology. 

I would like to say I embrace it, I praise it, I lift it to the sky with choirs of angels.

But some days I can’t. Because it’s only good when it works. 

That’s a pretty callous attitude, but really, would good is internet if it goes down?  What good is a phone if it can’t call anyone?  And why have a television if you have to be connected to an international company that is sorry, but you’ll have to wait 8 days for a repair person to fix an outdated connector in a metal box on the other side of the fence? (And you find out from the service technician that they never should have installed it that way in the first place?)

I recently went through a weekend with nothing working—at least nothing technologically related.  After fully appreciating and being grateful that I did not have a real problem—like a bad diagnosis, a loved one in the hospital, or no food to eat—I considered my options.

A. Go insane.

B. Take deep breaths, and find other things to occupy my time.

C.  Eat every possible form of junk food on the planet.

D.  Rest, knowing there wouldn’t be any interruptions.

E.  Go outside even more than usual.

F.  Walk my dog even more than I usually do.

G.  Think back to the days when we were kids and we loved weekends outdoors, running, playing, flying kites, eating popsicles, making clover chains, etc….none of which required technology.

What did I do?  A combination of the above.  I definitely listened to music more. I spent more time talking to my dog (they are very good listeners). I sat still and listened to the wind, the rain, the birds outside my door. I spent more time sitting outside just being quiet. I was thankful beyond words that I had air conditioning.

I got some work done I had been dreading, now there was no reason to postpone it. I cleaned a few areas of my home that I normally would walk by and dismiss. I actually lit all the candles in my den at night and did my best to meditate and enjoy the quiet. Once I let go of the frustration of not being to watch a certain show or check up on a specific website, I actually just relaxed.

It’s interesting how we let technology run our lives. It has become our master in many ways, deciding how rushed we are in the mornings, how much we can get done during the day, and what our evenings will be like.  We feel ruled by it in many ways. 

The weekend reinforced my desire to “cut the cord” so to speak. Not being as brave as some of my friends, I am not going the antenna route yet for TV, but I have cut my cable and am trying one of the streaming services instead.  So much cheaper, and while it requires kind of a different way of watching television, it feels like I’m in control now.  I’ve never been one to constantly check Facebook or other websites, especially on the weekends.  I’ll be doing it even less in the future.

I do appreciate how technology has made our lives easier in many ways.  Of course medical technology comes to mind. Researching information over a computer at my desk is much, much easier than rummaging through library basements (though sometimes I kind of miss that).  Any technology that helps us consume less, helps the environment, makes it easier to feed people in need or save lives is absolutely worth it.

But I want to find a balance between what I really require in my home and office, versus what I’m told by the “experts” I need. And if you’re going to put it in my home, then please be reachable when it stops working.

Because it will. 

But I’ll survive.  Because I’m old enough to remember not having it, and not feeling deprived.

Old movies are great. But so is a sunset.  Don’t miss it!

“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.” B.F. Skinner