We all live as if we had an infinite number of years ahead of us. Well, I'm here to tell you: another one just passed you by, and you have no idea how many you may have left. Let me let you in on a little secret: it's not nearly as many as you think, and regardless of how many there are, they are all going to go by faster than want to admit.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not here to put a damper on your end-of-year celebrations. I think you should celebrate. Go out and imbibe, smoke, shoot off fireworks, bang pans ... whatever it is you do to mark the transition. Have fun. Celebrate. Live it up. Life is short. Shorter than we want to admit. Maybe too short to do all we think we'd like to do. Definitely too short to do what needs to be done.
Yes, another year has slipped by. Is your life better now than it was a year ago? Are you richer? Do you have more money? Did you get all the gifts you had hoped for? Do you feel safe? Have you escaped death and taxes? Are you satisfied with yourself? Do you know in the meantime what's important to you and why you're even here on the planet?
My guess is that most of your answers to the questions above were somehow "negative". That's no reflection on you, it's just how things are. Those of you who are reading this have more than you need to begin with; you're far better off than you most likely want to admit; but you don't want to admit that you're not doing your part to make the world a better place.
No, we won't be around forever. Most of us have relatives and friends who are younger than us. When we're gone, they're going to have to deal with the world we leave behind. So, for me, here at the end of the year, when so many love to get sappy about the past year, I have to ask just what you've done to ensure that the world will be better when you leave it than when you entered it.
You don't have a lot of time left. You've spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about yourself and your needs. You have complained about the politicians you voted into office, the bosses who don't recognize your true value, the nefariousness of others cultures and religions. You have overvalued what you have, underestimated how badly your are being deceived by those you trust, and have become just a little bit more bitter, more dissatisfied, more unhappy, but you're going to act as if nothing has happened and everything is fine. Well, it's not.
We have advanced to the point where everyone on the planet could have enough to eat, have a roof over their heads, have access to healthcare, enjoy a modicum of peace and satisfaction and feel safe and secure enough to look forward to tomorrow: not just us and those we know, but everybody ... every single living human being on earth. But it's not that way, and each and every one of you has contributed to ensuring that some have and others have not.
No, no ... you haven't done it actively, you haven't gone out of your way to ensure that others suffer. You have closed your eyes, turned your head, rationalized your thoughts, ignored the facts, and spouted inanities in defense of your actions.
As long as there is unjust inequality, unwarranted suffering, ruthless discrimination, cold-hearted oppression, unfair business practices, calculated deception and unjustified oppression, you haven't done all you can do to leave the world a better place than you found it. You've lost another year to do your part. Just how many years do you have left? No matter how many you think it is, it isn't enough, unless you stop talking and start acting.
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