Yusuf Awadh Al-Azmi
Years, months and days go by, the Earth rotates, and humans remain ignorant. Life evolves and man revolves around himself, and he's ignorant of the direction the compass is leading him! Every now and then, man does not pay attention to his health.
Many people, including the writer, deem regular medical check up a luxury. We may not feel the need for the luxury until the hour of need! The same goes for anger. Whoever gets angry unnecessarily only hurts himself! Some people are envious and sadistic to the point that they only desire good things to fill up spaces they specify on the map.
Such people are absolutely wrong, because they are no less than a wing of mosquito before the Creator. No matter how far such a person goes, he will surely return! Let's talk about caring for the people around us. The daily routine could be normal but life takes a new direction when a person reaches the early stage of old age (they say old age starts at forty). It is then he remembers that advancing in age is a mere routine, and it's impossible to stop time! Once, I read that 'forties' is the ideal age, because it's the watershed between meeting and farewell.
It's about welcoming life with the first breath and commencing the bid of farewell with breath from age forty upward! A person who starts preparing his legal document containing instructions for the disposition of this or that is considered a pessimist! Such a person reaches age forty and books the ticket for his final journey with the feeling that life has already ended. I will tell two stories briefly. I know of a person who received his indemnity around thirty nine years old. He used to be sociable, full of smiles and calm prior to the retirement. His situation changed afterward.
Perhaps, he felt the end was near! His chin became long and life was restricted from home to the mosque and doing things single-handedly. He denied himself the pleasure of life, as some people believe that grimness and anti-social behavior shows religiosity, but reverse is the case. Pressure creates explosion, while inhibition often leads to destruction. He changed over a short period! Regardless of the reason for his negative change of attitude, it establishes the fact that nature dominates adaptability, and affectation is not permanent. It would have been better for him to return to his pre-retirement character and situation, but his character became precarious.
This is an example of a failed man! The entire world knows the other story. He is the Kentucky Food Company owner who took the first step to establish Kentucky at age fifty and above. He has a chain of restaurants now. Which person among us has never tasted his tasty fried chicken? Finally, live your life to satisfy yourself and not others, because you will be accountable for your deeds before Allah the Almighty, and not the deeds of others. The world is large enough for each and everyone. Do not be afraid of growing old. Perhaps, the best is yet to come. Smile and worry less. As the sun set yesterday, the sun will shine better tomorrow …
By Yusuf Awadh Al-Azmi
Twitter@alzmi1969