The Best Is Yet To Come . . . August 21, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Humor, Mindfulness.comments closed
We have a message board outside the clubhouse for announcements.
When there isn’t a 4-foot-long gator in one of the lakes or an upcoming social event looming on the horizon, the board is used to post inspirational sayings, trivia questions, etc.
* Kindness Echoes
* Who Shot J.R.?
* Shift Happens
* Which 2 vegetables are perennials?
Yesterday, the board announced:
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
Hmm . . . I’m not convinced.
“The best is yet to come” is one of those rather ridiculous “truisms” we intone with great regularity to remind ourselves to “keep on trucking.”
I don’t think it’s a true statement. Not for most of us, anyway. At best, the best is yet to come for some of the people, some of the time.
Unless, maybe, it’s meant in the collective sense.
Once global warming and climate change and melting glaciers wipe man off the face of the planet, animals like the Black Rhino may breathe a sigh of relief:
Now, that’s good. In fact, it’s the best!
God should NEVER have taken that extended sabbatical after Day 7. He should have pushed through the burn straight into Day 8.
But that’s only in the collective sense.
On an individual basis, how many of us really believe that “the best is yet to come”?
Kids, sure ~ especially in the days leading up to Christmas.
Young adults, maybe ~ until the bills start rolling in faster than the paychecks.
New parents, of course ~ those little bundles of joy are full of promise. A fresh canvas. Another chance to “get it right.”
But what then?
Do we really believe that “the best is yet to come” AFTER we’ve ticked all the requisite boxes:
* Grow up
* Get married
* Have kids (or don’t)
* Enter the workforce
* Buy a house . . . with granite counter tops and double sinks!
* Get a gold watch
* Retire
The idea of retirement keeps many of us moving forward.
But if retirement is “the best” . . . why do so many oldsters look over their shoulders to talk about “the good old days.”
For that matter, if we are convinced that the best is yet to come, why are we not giddy with anticipation, like Goofy, at the start of each new day?
For most of us, life is like riding a roller coaster ~ we reach a pinnacle and then begin a slow descent (or steep terrifying drop) as we age.
As years flow from one to the next, we are forced to say good-bye to people and things we once loved. In our golden years, after getting that gold watch, we experience aches and pains, difficulty sleeping, and creeping senility.
We no longer stare at the ceiling “too excited to sleep.” We’re awake at 2 a.m. because insomnia has, once again, interfered with our steadfast desire for deep restorative sleep and peaceful slumber.
I am not persuaded that the best is yet to come.
I suspect that Robin Williams felt the same.
Or, perhaps, after struggling with insomnia, he just longed for oblivion.
Morpheus, Morpheus . . . where for are’t thou Morpheus?
The trick to moving forward to the “Finish Line” (rather than jumping ship or pulling the plug) lies in getting a good night’s sleep. Every night.
Failing that, we increase the odds of enjoying ourselves for the duration of the cruise when we: (a) hang on to our sense of humor, (b) maintain perspective, (c) focus on the positives (like getting a good night’s sleep once in a Blue Moon), (d) eat lots of chocolate, and (e) convince ourselves that things don’t have to be “the best” in order to be “good enough.”
Collect enough drops of joy on a moment by moment basis and life is pretty good ~ even if we no longer feel like a kid in a candy shop who’s too excited to sleep because we’ve been brainwashed into believing the best is yet to come.
Aah . . . that’s better! (Stay tuned ~ the best is yet to come!)
Spirit Lights The Way 