Thought 05JAN2010

THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE
It was June 15 and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me. My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my old friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas's age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?"

Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question: "When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life. When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life. When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life. When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life."

"The Second World War came and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life. When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life. When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life." And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life."
Joe Kemp - extracted from 'a 5th portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1998
A knife-wound heals, but a tongue-wound festers - Kurdish Proverb