THE WISHES HAVE NO TYPOS, SIR

 

 


“Growing old is mandatory;

but, growing up is optional.”

Walt Disney

 

We don’t think about ageing when we are young… and, why should we? But, when we are getting older, whether we like it or not, we realize, that we are no younger…

Now, no matter what positive philosophy we choose to weave around getting older – ‘aging gracefully’, or ‘age is only a number’, or ‘age is only in your mind’ and so on - the hard truth is this: Growing old is mandatory… But, what we try to do is to choose the option: never to cease growing up…

That’s what the legendary Walt Disney said, and did… The Disney Land, Disney World, Disney Movies – everything about Walt Disney testifies for his commitment to remain childlike, never to lose the sense of wonder… curiosity and that incessant hunger to keep growing up …

 

Yesterday, our son turned 33. During the day, he shared, in our family group, an AI-generated picture of himself – he, at 33, hugging his baby self. Probably, he must not have thought what I was thinking in my mind with a smile on my face: “Son, with every passing year, don’t forget to hug your baby self… Never stop growing up.”

I had turned 67, this July… My everyday prayer is this: “God, keep my mind, body and spirit young.”

But, it’s up to God to answer to my prayers… So far so good, you see… He has been too kind to me. And, I have been kinder to my aging self… I take the wise, old advice quite seriously: “It’s important to have a twinkle in our wrinkle.”





Early this morning, I wished my dear friend Komal on her birthday. She maybe ten years behind me as far as her age is concerned. But, her memory is as sharp as an Elephant’s!

What makes me think so?

Let me tell you this… Many of the students, who learnt from me alongside Komal, forget, that I was once their ‘Sir’ (I mean, their ‘teacher’). Komal, despite the successful professional position she holds today, hasn’t forgotten, that she was once a ‘student’ of this ‘teacher’… Hence, never, ever would she forget to mention ‘Sir’…

Maybe, it’s not a big-enough justification for the claim I just made, that she’s blessed with an elephant memory…

Today, after sending my birthday wishes to Komal, I noticed a few typing errors, and wrote with a laughing emoji: “Typo in my message shows we are aging, slowly but surely.”

“The wishes have no typos, Sir.”

This was Komal’s reminder to me: that, no matter whether young or old, we, always, have an option to overlook each other’s’ flaws…






Walt Disney’s words do make sense:

“Growing old is mandatory; but, growing up is optional.”

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay

Video: TheEllenShow

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