Life’s Questions 

The year was 1991, I was finally in high school, and I had my whole life in front of me. One of the biggest movies that year was City Slickers starring Billy Crystal.  For years, I thought the movie was just a normal comedy about three friends who decided to go on an adventure to celebrate one of their birthdays. In the end, they had the time of their life, and they learned a few things, the end! I mentioned last week that my birthday was coming up, I think YouTube must have known I was getting older. I’m not sure why, but leading up to my birthday, YouTube kept putting clips from City Slickers on my page.  After a few weeks, I kept thinking about how I needed to rewatch this movie. A tough decision had to be made, with all the different subscriptions we pay for, it was only available to purchase on Amazon. The good news was that it was on sale, but did I really want to buy it? Finally, I used a gift card that I got for my birthday and purchased it. So yesterday, I sat down and watched it.  How did YouTube know that I needed this movie. This wasn’t the movie I remembered at all. The movie starts out with a man who has been at his job for a very long time and is now just going through the motions. At his birthday party his friends told him that they bought him a two-week vacation where they would learn to be cowboys. At first, he turns it down because he already has plans with his wife. When the party is over, his wife tells him to go on the trip so he can go and find his smile again.  In the movie, Billy Crystal is turning 39. Today, I am turning 48! Over the last year I have had many moments where I thought I was just going through the motions and had lost my smile. While moving cattle a couple of conversations came up in the group. The first conversation was about the meaning of life. They said that the meaning of life is just one thing. Find out what that one thing is, and you will have a happy life. The second conversation that really stuck with me was with the three friends. They asked each other what the best day of their life was and what the worst day of their life was.  The movie is from 1991, so if I ruin it for you, that’s on you. But, in the end, everyone went home feeling better. Billy Crystal stayed at his job and found his smile again. His two friends, who both had major things going on, seemed to have found the answers.  Does that mean I need to go on an adventure?  Maybe, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. So, what if I just look at the questions that were asked? What is my one thing? What was the best day of my life and the worst day of my life? I’ll start out with the best and worst days of my life. This probably won’t surprise anyone, but my best day was the day that the Yankees won the World Series in 1996. On the surface, it’s easy to explain. But one of the things I remember most about that day was who was there. My parents and my friend were all sitting around the TV watching. It’s significant to me because at the time, my friend and I hadn’t been getting along. He knew how much the game meant to me, so he was there for me. I still remember the last out of the game. We all cheered and hugged. I felt like I had been waiting for that my whole life. I’ll never forget that feeling and who was there. A few years later was the worst day of my life. In November of 1998, both of my grandma’s passed away. You can prepare for one death, but not two. Within two and a half weeks, I had lost two of the most consistent, loving people in my life. I remember knowing that my life would never be the same after that. I also remember at the funeral my friend who had celebrated with me a few years before being next to me helping carry the casket. So, what is my one thing? I want to help people. I want people to know they aren’t alone. I want people to know how to have a support system around them. I want everyone to have people in their life who will help celebrate with them and help carry the casket. You can’t do everything on your own. Life is a great adventure, who are you sharing it with? I want more people in this world who care about the people around them. My biggest takeaway from the movie and getting one year older is this, put people around you who truly care about you. Who are the people in your life who you want next to you when you celebrate and when you mourn? Invest in those people, we still have a lot of time left, you are going to need them, and they are going to need you!