Live a little before you die
”
The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it
alive.
”
That quote is usually attributed to the great science fiction
writer, Robert A. Heinlein (1907
– 1988). There are many similar quotes from various sources, but
I like this one best because the words
”
hardly anyone
”
are more intriguing than the usual words
–
”
no one gets out of it alive.
”
One can always hope.
Live a little before you die
“The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.” That quote is usually attributed to the great science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein (1907 – 1988). There are many similar quotes from various sources, but I like this one best because the words “hardly anyone” are more intriguing than the usual words – “no one gets out of it alive.” One can always hope.
Another reason I like that idea is because it includes a bit of grim humor that we all need to deal with an undeniable fact – humans have relatively limited life spans and the average, although high, may not apply to you or me. The truth is that life can be fragile; that was driven home to me lately when two people I knew recently died at the relatively young ages of 66. An exclamation point was added when I learned last week that a young adult friend was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor.
Although I’m fiscally conservative, I think that it’s very important that people live a little before they die. I keep running into folks who have all kinds of plans for things they will do after they retire; however, many of these could be done before retirement if they just put some time and money aside for them. The trouble with waiting to do everything is that there is no guarantee you’ll be around to do them, or if you are, you’ll be in any condition to enjoy them.
Here are some ideas. Rather than taking that 10-week, never-ending around-the-world vacation when you’re 70, why not take some mini-vacations every year? Not only will you get them in before fate can work all its will on you, but it will refresh your outlook on life and give you something that will make your friends and co-workers green with envy. Do not underestimate the value of that part.
When your buddy or co-worker says, “Hey, Joe where were you last week?” Just reply, casually, “Marge and I flew to Italy and spent a couple of days in Florence and Venice.” When you’re retired, everyone else is doing exactly what you’re doing. If you tell other retirees that you went to Italy their most likely response will be, “Been there – done that – got sick – came home.”
On a more serious note, if you have a lot of extra money, give some of it to your kids and grand kids when they need it or take the whole family on vacation – if you can stand it. Another idea is to send the kids to camp and give both them and yourself a break. If you’re worried that they won’t be able to handle the money well, set up education accounts or dole it out a bit at a time rather than in a lump sum, or do both.
Americans are workaholics. Few, if any, nations can outwork America; it’s our blessing and our curse. Nevertheless, to steal another old joke, very few people on their deathbed say, “I just wish I’d gone to work one more day.” More often than not we regret the things we did not do as much as the mistakes we made. So what’s your excuse this year? Try to live a little before you die, you might just find out you like it.
