Aging Gratefully

This is my favorite hiaku:

Since my house burned down
I now own a better view of the rising sun

Aging can be like that. The more losses that confront me, whether it's through death or coping with some challenging physical changes and ailments in my body, the clearer everything seems and the more enjoyable my life.

I am not just aging gracefully, I'm aging gratefully.

In some ways my father's early death was a tremendous gift for me. Ever since I passed the age at which he died, I have known that every birthday is a gift and some people have very few of these gifts. Do I like the changes in my body that come with aging? Absolutely not! I look at various body parts and say, "Et tu?" Yet as I see the "interesting" physical changes, I am also aware that every single day is a gift, not a given.

I've had some health challenges this year and no longer know what it means to wake up feeling well. What the outcome of this will be, I still don't know. I have learned patience. I have learned to live with uncertainty. I have learned to live with humor, joy, gratitude, and love in my heart. These are gifts I hope to keep the rest of my life.

There have been times this year when I have felt so lousy as I went to sleep that I wondered if I would even be here to wake up the next morning. I obviously have, but I no longer take that for granted. And I hope to live that way for as long as I get to continue aging gratefully.

And if you are one of my dearest friends reading this and we haven't spoken today, just remember, you've made a great difference in my life and I love you always.