Aging Capriciously

Last year at my 40^th Demontreville Retreat, one of the exercises that we were given by the Retreat Master included a very challenging set of thoughts.  The worksheet for the activity was labeled as “A Testament.” I took the worksheet and instructions home with me.  It had fourteen tasks or reflections to complete.  I did not desire to complete them during the retreat.  It is now almost a year since my retreat, and I have decided to make the mental and emotional effort necessary to complete this “Testament.”

The worksheet started with these instructions:

Imagine that this is the last day of your life on earth.  In the time that you have left, you want to leave a “Testament” for your family and friends.  Each of the following could serve as chapter headings for your “Testament.”

6.  These are the greatest Risks that I have taken in my life.

I have never really thought of myself as a risktaker.  First-born children are usually more pampered, and some believe that this results in them being less willing to take risks.  I know when it comes to physical things, I am not much of a risktaker.  I do not want to climb any mountains and I have only had one sky diving experience.  I am certainly not and have never been into what are called “Extreme Sports.”

When it came to business, I had always wanted to start my own company.  I have tried at least five times and have not really been very successful.  I attribute my failures to my lack of being willing to take risks when it comes to money.  I am very conservative financially.  I have shunned any  real monetary risks.  I tried starting a newspaper.  That did not go very well.  I also tried starting an on-line bookstore to focus on selling business related books. I invested some of our insurance money into the latter venture and lost every penny.  In both cases, failure did not lead me to getting up and trying again.  I took our losses and bailed rather than investing more money in either venture.

One risk that I have always taken was in terms of fighting.  Some of you might think fighting is wrong but I have always been willing to stand up to bullies and fight them either physically or emotionally.  Long before Trump  was being called a liar, I labeled him as such in my blogs.  In fact, when his first book “The Art of the Deal” came out, I wrote a review and basically described his book as worthless in terms of any useful financial advice.  I have written almost twenty blogs noting many reasons why the world would be better off with Trump in jail than running lose on the streets.

I have always written in my blogs what I think is the truth regardless of the circumstances.  Here in Arizona City, I was one of the few if not the only person in town to have a Hillary and Biden campaign posters in my front yard during the elections.  I was warned by my next-door neighbor that this might not be a good idea.  With Karen’s blessing, we left our posters up.

Another area that I have been willing to take risks in has been in terms of travel.  Karen and I have been to 44 countries now.  We went to China on our own two weeks before the Tiananmen Square Massacre.  We departed from the Shanghai airport for home the day before they closed it down.  We traveled over a great deal of China with a friend that we met there but also a great deal on our own.

Over the years and many trips, we have never gone on any large cruises.  We weigh the risks in traveling but we much prefer to travel alone.  I can’t imagine a trip where I have to go to any place at a specific time with a large group.  The one major exception to our travels with any pre-plans was our trip to South Africa.  A year or so ago, we went to South Africa on a custom tour.  We planned the trip with the cruise company.  During our trip we traveled with private guides to events and places that we had agreed on beforehand.  We have been warned many times about not going to places like Peru, Israel, Mexico, Russia and other countries.  With the exception of Russia which fell through because of Covid we have had wonderful trips in every country that we have visited.

I guess my final area of risk taking, besides being willing to try almost any food in the world, concerns my leaving home at 18 to join the military.  I decided to leave home without telling my parents that I was joining the miliary.  This was in 1964 during the Vietnam war and I thought that fighting communism in SE Asia was a patriotic thing to do.  Perhaps more important than that desire was my desire to leave home and see some of the world.  I wrote about my adventures in the United States Airforce in a three-part blog about five years ago.  If you really want to hear more about this story, go to https://agingcapriciously.com/2019/11/10/the-day-i-joined-the-airforce-part-one

Well friends, that’s it for this reflection.  I can’t think of any major risks I have taken that seemed either scary or frightening.  I have always been up for adventures but never much of a leader when it comes to breaking new trails.  I am a great follower though.  If you have any adventure planned, I would be more than happy to join you.

Next Reflection:    

7. These are the sufferings that have seasoned me and made me more compassionate.