Go long

Not all can last just shy of 100 like Betty White.

In fact, due to the pandemic-soon-endemic, our life expectancy are cut short.

Once again, this reminds me of the proverbial girl-on-the-bus across the country with-50-bucks: should she spend it all on candy bars? cigarettes? or just water bottles.

Go long.

A long view. Sprinkled with Karma.

Give 5 dollars to a less fortunate refugee-looking co-passenger. That would work.

In the long run.

If there is no such thing as Karma, then you’re screwed.

Our girl is left with $45 and many bus stops ahead.

Do good.

It will come back to you (or harms might not come your way).

All of our lives, we’re told to be good, to do good. Then other messages contradict: “buy this”, “go there” “join that”…”fight for the cause” (which one?). Worship God (who?).

So our time and attention is divided and distracted, then finally spent.

Our money dwindled. And our time diminished.

No more confidence in our judgment. Nothing seems as they are: unless you are dead. A sure thing.

When Betty White recorded ahead of her 100th-birthday-celebration to thank her fans, she did not foresee her Dec-31st sudden end.

Same with me. With you. So unpredictable that the average statistic couldn’t hold (at least, for some of my friends, of late, who never lived on to see the average play out).

75? Good luck to be in the range. How about being an anomaly? How about living at the far end of the spectrum. To keep going to funerals, one after another.

To mourn, to feel lonely and be under-understood. We’re all “Bettys” in the sense that we don’t know far ahead, can’t see past the flash-light range, yet still need to do what we are expected: to thank others without whose help, we wouldn’t be the person we become or achieved what we so far have.

Instead of urging others on with your unfulfilled dreams, on this day, Jan 17, just thank others for the fulfilled ones. It’s more concrete. Our society is into quantifiable data. The girl on the bus, having given away 10% of her pocket money, has 45 USD left for her long trip across the country. I would buy water bottles, large. R.I.P. BW.