Bill Hodges, this column’s writer, passed away Dec. 20 after 17 days at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. He was optimistic to the very end—as he had been during his years-long battle with heart failure. When it was evident recovery was not to be, he asked that I relay these thoughts to you.
Phyllis Hodges
Dear Readers:
It is with a grateful heart that I reflect on my 25 years in Florida—Six in Apollo Beach and 19 in Sun City Center. We were welcomed with open arms and our new friends became family.
The Observer News has been publishing my syndicated column—Positive Talk—for most of those years. I always considered myself “a student of life” and that’s where I got inspiration for my columns. My sole purpose of sharing observations and philosophies was to touch a reader who might need that week’s column at that exact time.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your feedback, which assured me that I really did make a difference. Farewell, friends. My final message to you is a reprint of this column.
There is an old Irish prayer that says, “God, don’t let me die before I’m dead.” Every morning that prayer is my way of saying to my maker that I want him to help me stay excited and interested in all that will happen to me during the day. I believe it is important for our mental well-being that we consciously and continually widen our interests, especially as we grow older. With maturity, there is a tendency for the mind to begin shutting down and not have the inquisitiveness of youth.
Think about it. The senior citizens we enjoy most are not those who wrap their age around them like a shawl and rock quietly on the porch of the past, but rather those who wear their age like bright, shiny armor and dare to challenge the unknown of the future. Those seniors didn’t get the way they are overnight. The seeds for their lifestyle were sown in the past, nurtured over the years and now blossom for all to see. They have probably always been vital individuals who took an active interest in all that life presented to them. Norman Vincent Peale, in his book, Stay Alive All Your Life, made the following statement: “When your interest and appreciation are widened to include the whole great world, life becomes even more fascinating. Interest projected outside yourself has the power to force even hardship, suffering and pain into the background. The more vital your interest in others and in the world, the more you can live triumphantly over your own difficulties.”
Dr. Peale’s advice is certainly applicable to all of us. We must widen our interests to include as many things as possible. I have always been a student of the universe, and even as I grew older, I felt there were more and more things I wanted to know. There are so many things for us to be involved in and so many places to see. There is a Zen proverb that says, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Upon reflection, I am amazed at all the teachers who have appeared over the years. People from all walks of life have shared ideas with me. Books and audio material have suddenly popped up when I needed the information most. I don’t believe most things happen by accident. I do believe that our attitude governs most of the things that happen to us—at least the way we react to them. If we wish to stay vital into our senior years and truly make them golden, then we must mimic the child and continually ask,” Why?”
Have a plan for tomorrow. Sit down and determine three things that you want to know, and then look for the teacher who will enlighten you. Plan a trip or a simple outing. Having something to look forward to is important. If you do these things, you will stay alive all your life. You will have chosen life.