A while back, my husband and I headed out with the camera. We drove into a little town in Northern Michigan and stopped at a small museum on the out skirts of town. At the back of the museum was a small pond with a water wheel supported by an artisan well. There were flowers planted on one side making it a pretty spot for pictures. My husband went ahead to check things out. He motioned for me to bring the camera. I thought perhaps he wanted to get a picture of the water fall. But he waved for me to come quickly so I knew there was some specific composition he was afraid he would miss. Arriving on the scene I saw he had found two little frogs on a Lilly pad soaking up the warm late summer sun. He snapped the picture and we moved on around to see what else we could find. There were small fish, butterflies, tadpoles and more frogs. We watched for a few minutes making several pictures. My husband casually made the statement, “To these frogs, this little pond is their whole world. They have no idea there is a bigger world out there.”

I began to think about the fact that our world can be much like that little pond. We get so settled in with all the comforts we need for the good life. Just as my husband made his observation, I wonder if our creator may assess us, wishing we would extend our vision, to enjoy more of life and make each day a special occasion. Helen Keller was once asked what would be worse than being blind. She quickly responded that it would be worse to have 20/20 eyesight with no vision.

Aging gives freedom. We find it easier to be ourselves because what people think is not as important as it once was. We have freedom to express what we like or dislike, freedom to grow in our own direction, not looking to see how others are doing it. We have freedom to fall in love with life, to truly believe life is special, a gift we are given.

Statistics show we are living many years beyond what our ancestors could ever expect. Preparations for later years begin with attitudes, life styles, activities and spiritual maturing. We have a major role to play and it’s much more fun on the field than in the bleachers.