The Downhill Slide

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it.”

-- Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013),  Prime Minsiter U.K.

It seems like I pay more attention, of late, to those who bemoan the downhill side of life; people my own age who feel the "end" will come, and all too soon. The end? I shake my head and smile. These are people who have truly lived life, many are retired military who have sidestepped death on multiple occasions, yet learned nothing except they are riding the downhill slide into oblivion. They wish they have more time, and their wish may evidence their lack of faith and understanding.

Early in my life, as a younger man, I got married before I had any concept of what it was all about; money management, kids, love, all escaped me in favor of an intense focus on my work.  I think many of us become our parents, good and bad.  Overcoming the bad can be dependent on having some life-changing event which puts it right in your face.  For me, this was my divorce.  The intense focus on work helped me to become everything I had tried to make sure my children didn't.  They are their own great success.

“Getting older is a question of coming to terms with the fact that you’ll never know the secrets, and the resulting equilibrium is what gives the illusion of actually knowing them.”

-- Paul Shepheard, architect, author 

I read philosophies throughout my life, searching for secrets which were right in front of me.  I think most of us do this, we really don't see the forest for all the trees we allow life to put in front of us.  We think we see the forest, we convince ourselves that we do, and then we fall all the harder because of it.  The fall is what wakes most of us up to the reality we kept missing.  Those of us that survive realize that life really isn't as hard as we have made it.  I think this is why many older folks are at peace with their own end when it comes.  They learn that this life, difficult or not, is simply another stop on our journey through infinity. 

As you grow older, you learn to understand life a little better.

-- Solomon Burke (1940-2010), preacher, singer

What people think of me stopped mattering when I lost everything.  You have a choice when you lose it all; you can cry, you can be angry, or you can learn humility.  I chose humility with an unfortunate target for misplaced anger.  My humility finally won out as I was constantly reminded that forgiveness is a virtue, especially when you shoulder your own responsibility for what happens in life; those poor choices and the consequences which follow.

I equate the "downhill slide" of my life with a scene from the movie Dr. Strangelove (1964).  Maj. Kong (Slim Pickens) wonders why the nuclear weapon didn't drop from the bomb bay of his aircraft.  He has to sit on it to operate the manual release and then rides the bomb, like a rodeo cowboy, to its ultimate destruction, whipping his cowboy hat around all the way down.  It's the realization that life here is what you make of it, so you might as well embrace the power God has given you and ride it for all the enjoyment you can before you board the bus for the next destination on your journey. 

As we grow older, we must discipline ourselves to continue expanding, broadening, learning, keeping our minds active and open.

-- Clint Eastwood, actor, filmmaker, political figure

I have returned to reading philosophy, in particular, the ancient Greeks.  I have found what was true for them still has much relevance today.  Heraclitus was delving into quantum physics and stating that change is the only constant in the universe; Socrates was trying to tell us that a wise man really knows nothing; Plato argued the infinite nature of the soul, and the material world is not the real world.  The ancient philosophers of Greece and China were hammering out our issues a half millennia before the birth of Christ, or more than 2500 years ago.

I don't want to die, but I don't fear death should it come.  I have tried to tell people what they mean to me and have tried to impart some humble tidbits of what I have learned.  I have managed to live longer than quite a few of my contemporaries, friends, and acquaintances, in spite of my seeming disregard for personal safety.  Perhaps its due to never taking up smoking as a habit, jumping out of perfectly good aircraft, or free climbing verticle cliff faces.  I have put my life at enough risk without intentionally tempting fate by losing all good sense.

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.

-- George Burns (1896-1996), comedian, actor, singer, writer

I constantly preach the Dylan Thomas poem, Do not go gentle into that good night.  Not fearing death and raging against it makes perfect sense.  You can be prepared for the ultimate conclusion to this life without inviting it upon yourself.  Living life to the fullest does not mean trying to catch a bullet in your teeth.  I mean, isn't that just the dumbest idea?  As for me, I've had everything to do, and I haven't done the half of it.  If I don't get to it in this life, I will work hard to do better in the next.  Then again, if our life is written by God, I'm certain procrastination must have accounted for several chapters of my life plan.

Someone once said, "Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many."  They would be right.  And I think, in my own humble opinion, those who don't grow old are usually victims of their own folly.  Of course, I could be wrong.

“I was thinking about how people seem to read the bible a lot more as they get older, and then it dawned on me - they’re cramming for their final exam.”

-- George Carlin (1937-2008), comedian, actor, author

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.