Another year is passing. Before we turn the page to 2022, I’d like to share some thoughts with some quotes I created about how 2021 has gotten my mind to think about this thing we call life.

“Survival is the greatest accomplishment of courage.” Courage isn’t only about heroes who wear uniforms. We regular folks show the courage to survive sicknesses, divorces, job losses and a litany of problems that might have ruined any motivation to “keep on keeping on.” In my experiences, survival requires we weather the storm, but to get to fair weather days, we not only have to endure the ordeal, but to come out of the darkness into the light of day stronger than we ever were before. We can and we will get through this pandemic, no matter how long it might last.

“The truth of laughter lives in the heart and not on the face.” We all laugh, but a funny face is not always the reflection of a happy person. The paradox is that many funny people on the outside are not having fun on the inside. They give us a public perception. The life of the party and the class clown can be hiding depression, stress and anxiety. When the quiet man laughs or the humble woman chuckles, their humor is much more sincere.

“The beauty of love lies not on the skin but in the soul.” We fall in love with the pretty face or the perfect body. Age and experience often teach us that those who spend hours in front of mirrors or at the gyms can be external in nature. They may be spending little time cultivating their character. Sexy is the sincere soul, the compassion for others and that inexplicable thing that makes love extraordinary for those who figure it out and get it right and heartbreak for those who don’t.

“The act of forgiveness removes guilt from the perpetrator and pain from the victim.” For the hurt that one gives and for the hurt that one receives, neither can move on with life unless the guilty asks to be forgiven and the victim forgives. It’s never too late for this to happen. Years of painful burdens have been cured at the foot of many gravesites. Count me as one.

“Unless I allow to be judged for my actions, why do I deserve the right to judge others?” Every minute of every day, or so it seems, somebody is criticizing somebody else’s way of doing things. That appears to be incredibly unfair and if the tables are turned, you’ll find that those who like to judge do not want to be judged. The old expression “live and let live” is still relevant today.

“Life and love are the two best four letter words in the English language.” They go perfectly together. One of my favorite lines from the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder is, “You’ve got to love life to have life and you’ve got to have life to love life.” That about says it all.

“Music is the gateway to bringing people together.” Since we are a country where our population speaks 430 different languages, communication breakdowns exist everywhere, and that can cause very little common ground between the cultures. Music is the only universal language, and its ability to bring people of all races and cultures together is astounding. Perhaps a song like John Lennon’s “Imagine” can become the international anthem and help stop the flex of muscles between the narcissistic leaders of the world so we can end conflicts wars forever.

“To die with peace is to die with no regrets.” These words are my mantra as I live out the rest of my days. I often have written that no one on a deathbed is going to say, “I should have worked more hours” or “I should have bought the Dodge truck instead of the Ford.” Regret comes from spending too little time with our loved ones or not following a dream like writing a book or going to college even at 70 years old. Regret is much worse than failure. I have lived every day with that thought firmly sitting in the back of my mind.

“While we worry what others think of us, the truth is they’re not thinking much about us at all.” Who sits around all day thinking about me or about you? We are so concerned about the opinions people have of us when the fact is life is much too complex for anyone to dwell about what anyone thinks of anybody else. We may have all had a period of time when we were trying to be what we thought others wanted us to be. To be content with whom we are is what others will have to accept as we will with them.

For a final quote, I’m going to take the last stanza of a poem titled “Epitaph” by Merrit Malloy.

“Love doesn’t die. People do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, give me away.”

We are immortal in the hearts of the people we love, and we die with the hope that they will pass along the best of what we give to them and what we give to them every day is our unconditional love.

So, in 2022, let’s make it a full year of loving our families and friends and extending our kindness to everyone we should encounter. Happy New Year!

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.