So, Today I Am 70 Years Old...

So, today I am 70 years old. The majority of my body parts still work as originally designed, and I still have most of them. Who really needs a gall bladder anyway?

Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Every once in a while it is good to sit down and look at where you have been. This can help us plan for the future. Look back at what your goals were 20-30 years ago and then examine what really happened. Praise yourself for accomplishments, forgive yourself for failures (those goals were stupid anyway), and put together a roadmap for the next 20-30 years. Sitting around and watching other people do interesting things does not appeal to me, so on to review and plan.

The Last 30 Years - I accomplished 5 big things

·        I found the love of my life and married her. After a divorce, a failed relationship and numerous false starts, it finally happened for me. Linda, my best friend and partner, accepted me as I was and who I have become. I am now content with this part of my life.

My "daughter"

Linda

      After a lifetime of lacking the ability to control my weight, I got healthy and fit. At age 60 I lost 110 pounds and changed my life. I was on the way to an early grave preceded by diabetes and a depressing existence. It is still a battle. I put back on 15 pounds in 10 years but am getting rid of it, hopefully for good.

Charlie Age 51

Charlie Age 60

   

                                        

Charlie 61

  Charlie 61

Charlie 62

       

      I figured out what I want to do when I grow up (business wise). I love technology, particularly computers. I also like teaching and mentoring people, and like most people I like getting paid well. That all came together when I and two partners started Stony Point (www.stonyp.com). We have 25 employees and are growing nicely.

          I have maintained a relationship with my little brother. Actually he is not a “blood relative”, but he is my brother. We have been together for about 45 years. John Wilson and I were the first matched pair of Big Brother/Little Brother of the Willingboro Big Brother / Big Sisters. He was 11 at the time. His son is my godson.

John & my Godson

         I learned to focus on and appreciate this moment in time. My life had always been preparing for the the next big thing so much that I couldn’t appreciate where I was. Now, things that I do aren’t just things, they are experiences to be treasured. Sitting on the back porch with Linda figuring out how we together will face a challenge is somehow relaxing. Walking with Chester, my dog, to the barn to muck stalls becomes an outing with exercise. Life seen through a different lens can sharpen your focus so you can see things more clearly.

So enough of that sappy stuff. What am I going to do until my warranty runs out? Numero uno, I am going to continue doing the stuff I enjoyed from the last 30 years for as long as my body holds up. Linda and I will take more trail rides, she on her horse Ronnie and me on my faithful surefooted mule Stony. I also want to ramp up volunteer work to give back or to give to those less fortunate, some of which will be animals. I have had the idea of creating a program like Big Brothers but for grandparents. Sometimes the grandparents of children just aren’t available and grandparents can be a valuable part of a child’s development. We need to figure out how to put the resources, older folks with available time, together with children in need. I want to read and write more, and keep in touch with old friends. And, I want to spend time in my woodshop.

Over the next couple of months, I will firm up these plans and start acting on them. Time is speeding up so it is time to work on them. I hope you take the time to look backwards and forwards. It makes life more rewarding.

Written by Charlie Sharp 7/27/2016 - Older and wiser than he was yesterday!

Outliers

Outliers

We, all of us, have a tendency to label groups based on the attention grabbing outliers instead of the mainstream masses.
In Dallas, the now deceased shooter said last night that he wanted to kill white police officers. This came on the heels of the deaths of two black men shot by white police officers. 
The Dallas snipers drew a straight line from those deaths to all white police officers. That logic is just as flawed as attributing the atrocities of any group of miscreants to an entire race, religion, nationality or ethnicity.

We, nor the outliers, can kill enough people to create peace. We can crush resistance for a short time but it will return bigger and bolder.
The only answer is to stop treating the masses as the outliers. Treat everyone as an individual, not blind to obvious signs of danger nor prejudiced by outlier actions.
This solution is less dramatic, creates less news content and may take years to achieve, but is the only way to a lasting peace.

This solution starts with you, the individual. You don’t need Congress to act nor for direction from your clergy. Just look at each person you see or meet as if they are part of the peaceful masses that share your hope for a better day tomorrow.

Please share this post with whatever comment you believe is appropriate.

Submitted by 

Charlie Sharp 

Forever Young Farm