Get and Have

WORDS LIKE LIGHT

Sunday,  January 23, 2022

         For most of my life, the word ‘get’ has been given more importance than it deserves. My life too often seemed to be about lack – not enough money, not enough comfort, not enough fun. I seemed to be always trying to get something – get peace of mind, get more security, get a solution to a problem, get another snack. Fortunately, though, at the slowly awakening age of 80, I’m seeing more clearly that ‘have’ is the word that describes my life far more accurately than ‘get’. The truth is that I have measureless wealth, though not the dollars-and-cents kind. I have, inside me, access to all the love and peace and patience a person could possibly need (even though I only occasionally make use of it). I have, at this very moment, limitless vistas of thoughts and feelings that are constantly shifting and flowing, the way sunrises and sunsets do. Best of all, I have, at all times, the company of the wondrous, always brand-new present moment, a friend that will always be my loyal colleague. Tell me, why would a guy who has so much need to get anything?