I hate class reunions and school homecomings. I hate homecomings, period. Avoid them like COVID. That might have something to do with my being
an introvert, but I have another explanation: I don’t want to live in the past.
Now my years in college were some of the most enjoyable of
my life; so why wouldn’t I want to recall and re-live them with friends from that
time in my life? But a couple that my
wife and I have known since college did prevail on us to attend the five-year
reunion of our college class with them.
We all had a miserable time. Even
putting aside the alumni association’s appeal for money, there was little to
enjoy. An especially pathetic scene to behold
(to me, at least) was the only other attendee from our class, a very smart
young woman who was well on her way to a career as a physician, fruitlessly
searching for people she knew. We hardly
knew her ourselves; we had run in different social circles back in the day. But she gravitated to us in despair and even
started taking our pictures with the camera with which she had hoped to capture
some great memories. I wonder if she
still has our picture.
My philosophy has been that there is something better just
around the corner. I guess that makes me
an optimist. Why spend time reminiscing
when I could spend that time discovering that new thing that awaits me?
You just know I’m going to make this about money,
right? I’m not here to just riff on
reunions after all. And here it is: A
blurb in the latest issue of Kiplinger Personal Finance reported that a
survey done by Edelman Financial Engines found that 51% of Americans would
rather have $1 million added to their retirement account than have five healthy
years added to their lives.
Really?!? That is the
answer I might expect from twenty-somethings struggling with finances (They
would probably withdraw the million dollars from the retirement account,
incurring taxes and a 10% penalty,) and who think they are immortal
anyway. For all the talk about eating
right, exercising, and maintaining healthy habits, half of us would rather die
five years before we have to than forego a million dollars. (The same survey found that if the ante were upped
to ten years of healthy life, 32% would still choose the money.)
To me the survey results say that half of us don’t
appreciate what we have and are not optimistic for our future. It is probably my age, but five more years of
healthy life sounds appealing. How many
books could I read, how much quality time could I spend with family and good
friends, and what new places could I visit in those five years? I cannot envision a scenario in which I would
trade away five years of life. And I
find it difficult to comprehend that 51% of Americans feel so poor that they
would not feel the same way.
As we approach Thanksgiving Day, I pray that instead of
longing for more—more money, more of whatever money can buy—we will cling to
and hold precious the gift of life, which no amount of money can buy, and be
thankful for what we have, even if it seems exceedingly small now. A life of gratitude, a life of anticipation,
is one worth living.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends.
Roger
“If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied
with what you have.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 CEV
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts
with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4 KJV
