The “Back-Nine” Of Life

[Brahmanyan]

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Here is a wonderful message forwarded to me recently that I wish to share with the members of the Forum.
I am sure these thoughts would have passed through the minds of elderly some time or other.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
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THE BACK NINE

I FIRST STARTED READING THIS EMAIL AND WAS READING FAST UNTIL I REACHED THE THIRD SENTENCE. I STOPPED AND STARTED OVER READING SLOWER AND THINKING ABOUT EVERY WORD. THIS EMAIL IS VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING. MAKES YOU STOP AND THINK. READ SLOWLY!
AND THEN IT IS WINTER.

You know ... time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is... the back nine of my lifeand it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only on the first hole and the back nine was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd become.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though I’m on the back nine, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's over. A new adventure will begin! Yes, I have regrets.There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.
So, if you're not on the back nine yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you’re on the back nine or not!
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY ! HAVE A GREAT DAY Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. LIVE HAPPY IN 2015!

LASTLY, CONSIDER THIS:
~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!
~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!
~You forget names.... But it's OK because some people forgot they even knew you!!!
~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything like golf.
~The things you used to care to do, you aren't as interested in anymore, but you really do care that you aren't as interested.
~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV 'ON' than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..
~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???
~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!
~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
~Everybody whispers.
~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.
~~~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!
Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!" Send this on to other "Old Friends!" and let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!! It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN; YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE AGAIN, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS
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(PS: "Back nine of a golf course": A standard golf course has 18 holes, numbered 1 through 18. The first nine holes are referred to as the "front nine," and the last nine holes - holes 10 through 18 - are called the "back nine.")

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Dear Sir,
This message can't be written better than this! :clap2:
I bet these thoughts have existed in the mind of every senior citizen.
ONLY we could not put them in black and white so very well.
Thank you for the thought provoking message which no one can really challenge.
Back Nine make us wonder what happened in the Front Nine!!! :decision:

 

[renuka]

~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!

Even without having a grandkid yet I can note that my son is "becoming" me.

It feels scary cos does the world need another like me around?LOL

 

[Brahmanyan]

Dear Mrs. Visalakshi Ramani,
Namasthe,
You said it. These thoughts do pass through the minds of people when they reach a particular stage of old age,
when the mind is at peace.
Interistingly the gist of the message has been told by Ravana long back. Here is the story of the same.
Ravana performed several yagnas as a Brahmin including the one for no other than Lord Shiva and Parvati themselves. The puranas tell us about the magnitude of Ravana’s learning and skill. He was unmatched in his knowledge of the nitishastra. Indeed, after his defeat towards the end of the Ramayana, Rama orders his brother Lakshmana to learn the art of nitishastra from the dying Ravana. In the end, as he lay dying on the battlefield, holding on to the very last breath and giving Lakshmana instruction on Nitishastra and proper administration, Ravana is said to have commented dryly, “Never assume that you have all the time in the world and take nothing for granted. Never procrastinate. I conquered the Heavens and imprisoned Yama, the lord of Death to my bedstead and Shani, the ninth planet under my throne. I told myself that I will always have time to finish them later. What good did this procrastination do? They prevailed anyway.”
Today and now is more precious than the past and future.
Warm Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Even without having a grandkid yet I can note that my son is "becoming" me.

It feels scary cos does the world need another like me around?LOL

Doctor,

There is nothing to be scared. We believe,the boy taken after his mother will always be lucky.
தமிழில் பழமொழி சொல்வார்கள் "தாயைப்போல் பிள்ளை நூலைப்போல் சேலை" என்று. இது உண்மையில் பொருத்தமான பழமொழி .

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Brahmanyan Sir,

Five years ago, I used to wonder, 'How come, many of the musicians have become old all on a sudden?'!!

Right now, when all my siblings have celebrated 'maNi vizhA', I wonder 'engE pOnadhu nam iLamai?'

Time really FLIES!! lane:

 

[vgane]

Dear Sri Brahmanyan,

The post is thought provoking...This is valid not only for the elderly but also for each one of us as the saying goes "Time and Tide waits for no man"...You cannot get back even the last second that you have missed...

Thank you for posting this

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Dear Mr. Brahmanyan,
Namaste! ray2:
Time does not just flow.
It jumps by leaps and bounds!
We get married and become parents.
Suddenly it is time to get our children married.
Suddenly it will be the time to get the grandchildren
admitted in Schools/ colleges and get them wedded too.
The only way to make sure that the Front Nine and the Back Nine
are not wasted is to live and act NOW ...at present... always!

 

[Brahmanyan]

Dear Brahmanyan Sir,

Five years ago, I used to wonder, 'How come, many of the musicians have become old all on a sudden?'!!
Right now, when all my siblings have celebrated 'maNi vizhA', I wonder 'engE pOnadhu nam iLamai?'
Time really FLIES!! lane:

Dear Mrs Raji Ram,

Perhaps it is called "Maya" - "that is not". "The physical World which we perceive through our senses is real as well as unreal. At the time of happening it looks real. But,the world which we experience is unreal because it is unstable, impermanent, transient and illusory and changing. We see the changes every second. So this changing world, which is not permanent is caused by Maya or illusion, not real, or the changeless."


In Srimath Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 7 Paramahamsa Vijnana Yoga (Knowledge of Ultimate Truth)
Lord tries to explain Maya to Arjuna in the following words:

Daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa;
Maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam taranti te. (14)

Verily this divine illusion of Mine made up of the qualities (of Nature) is difficult to cross over;
those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this illusion.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Raji Ram]

.......... At the time of happening it looks real. But,the world which we experience is unreal because it is unstable, impermanent, transient and illusory and changing. We see the changes every second. So this changing world, which is not permanent is caused by Maya or illusion, not real, or the changeless."........

Dear Sir,

Very true!

Please read what I have written in the last page of the travelogue of my second trip to the U S of A:

கடல் கடந்த இரண்டாம் அனுபவம்.

'நாடகமே இந்த உலகம்; ஆடுவதோ பொம்மலாட்டம்', என்பதை
நம்பிடுமே நம் மனம், நீண்ட பயணங்கள் சென்று வரும்போது!

கடல் கடந்து சென்று, நல்ல சுற்றம் நட்புகளைக் காண,
உடல் சோர்ந்து போகுமளவு, ஊர்கள் பல சுற்றி வந்து,

எத்தனையோ புதுப் புது அனுபவங்கள் பெற்றாலும், அவை
அத்தனையும் கனவு போலவே தோன்றுவதும் நிஜம்தானே?

புதிய வடிவில் கோவில்களும், புதிய வகையில் தோட்டங்களும்,
புதிய சூழலில் வாழும் வாழ்க்கை முறைகளும், பனி மலைகளும்,

மிக அரிய, அனல் வீசும் பூமி வடிவங்களும், அரிய விலங்குகளும்,
மிகப் பெரிய பள்ளத்தாக்குகளும் என்று பல அதிசயங்கள் கண்டு

வந்த பின்பு, அவை நாம் பார்த்தவைதானா எனும் ஐயம், ஆல்பம்
கண்ட பின்புதான் போகும் என்று ஆவதும் ஒரு மாயைதானோ?

நமக்கு மேலே ஒருவன் இருந்து, கைப்பாவைகளாக வைத்து,
நம்மை ஆட்டுவிப்பது போலவும் ஒரு பிரமை தோன்றுகிறது!

கண்காணாத தேசங்களில் வாழும் பிள்ளைகளைத் தினம்
கண் பார்த்து, மனம் மகிழ, இப் பயணங்கள் தேவைதான்!

இறையருளால் கிடைத்த அருமையான வாய்ப்பாக எண்ணி,
இறையைப் பணிந்து, இப்பக்கங்களை நிறைவு செய்கின்றேன்!

உலகம் உய்ய வேண்டும்.....ray2:
ராஜி ராம்

 

[mskmoorthy]

I was reminded of the 2009 op ed essay [h=3]The Meaning of Life[/h]by Roger Cohen in New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/opinion/16iht-edcohen.html?_r=0

This paragraph by him was thought provoking:

"I don’t buy this gain-without-pain notion. Duality resides, indissoluble, at life’s core — Faust’s two souls within his breast, Anna Karenina’s shifting essence. Life without death would be miserable. Its beauty is bound to its fragility. Dawn is unimaginable without the dusk."

 

[Brahmanyan]

John Keats the English Romantic poet, who is one of my favourite poets, laments on
the passing of time but enjoys "The Realm of Fancy". Here is a piece from the same.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

O sweet Fancy! let her loose;
Everything is spoilt by use:—
Where's the cheek that doth not fade,
Too much gazed at? Where's the maid
Whose lip mature is ever new?
Where's the eye, however blue,
Doth not weary? Where's the face
One would meet in every place?
Where's the voice, however soft,
One would hear so very oft?
At a touch sweet Pleasure melteth
Like to bubbles when rain pelteth.
Let then wingèd Fancy find
Thee a mistress to thy mind:

( The Realm of Fancy )