A SATISFIED MIND
A few Saturday's ago, I got up a little earlier than I needed to because I was looking forward to my daily cups of coffee and doing the final editing of the next day's homily. With two cups down the hatch and the homily finished and printed off, I wearily started my daily "discipline" on my treadmill. Since I had seen it before, I could take breaks from the movie on the TV in front of me, "Forest Gump," and come back for a few more minutes and continue my run and remember exactly where I left off in that wonderful Tom Hanks movie. In my estimation, the weather outside was "just perfect," causing me to grab a few minutes out on the deck to bask in the fresh air between "doing time" on the treadmill and watching "Forest Gump" evolve into adulthood.
At some point, going back and forth from the treadmill to the deck, I felt that amazing contentment of living alone that comes over me ever once in a while! An awareness hit me that day of just how much I love having my own place, with no interruptions except my own, with nothing to do and no place to go! It was one of those moments when I realized what a gift "retirement" really is and what "contentment" is really all about.
My first memory of being "contented" like that was one spring day when I had the fabulous luck of being the recipient of a special grace from my overly busy mother who never had "a minute to herself" much less "time for" special individual attention to one of her three small children. I was probably four years old when she invited me to sit in her lap in a rocking chair in preparation for my afternoon nap. I don't think, at least up till that time, I could recall ever having Mom completely to myself! I can still remember the breeze coming through the open window in front of us with the sheer curtains waving in that breeze. I can still remember looking up at her face as she hummed a song to me. It was sheer "contentment" - the contentment that I have always imagined that heavenly beings experience.
Every once in a while I remember being at home, having just turned eight or nine, whining to my mother that "we don't have anything to do!" I had to learn the hard way how counter-productive that whining was when she put us to work! Evidently, I had forgotten the total freedom of the "good old days" of early childhood when we could spend long hours entertaining ourselves just playing in the nearby woods.
I am truly blessed. I realize it every time I take the opportunity to seriously reflect on my situation. Whether it is in the early morning out on my deck with a cup of coffee or it is in the evening with a nice tall Tanquery and tonic with lots of ice and a slice of lime with a good friend and even a good book, I know what peace and contentment means! "Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing. It sounds and echoes in my soul. How can I keep from singing?"
I realize that I "have it good" and I am very thankful! At seventy-seven, maintaining good health is the only thing I really worry about! So far. so good!
If I had his money, I would do things my way
But little they know, that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Friend when you're lonely, or peace to your soul
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
My life is over and my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones, I'll leave these no doubt
One things for certain, when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind
My life is over and my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones, I'll leave these no doubt
But one things for certain, when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind
One things for certain, when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.
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