What will your life be like in three years?
It’s folly to think that far ahead.
Should you plan for the future?
Of course, but don’t get too attached to it. Be aware of the future things that excite you. When you catch yourself saying “I can’t wait for x,” don’t ignore the present moment. In the end – that is all that matters.
Case in point: My brother talked a lot about retiring when he hit his fifties. He had it all planned out. He knew what he was going to do, where he was going to live, and how he would spend his days.
On St. Patrick’s day, 2022, I’m playing a gig, and he comes out to see my band. Between sets, he breaks the news – he was diagnosed with myelofibrosis. If you aren’t familiar, it’s a rare bone marrow disease. About 1 in 500,000 people will get it worldwide. Of those people, one-third will get leukemia on top of it. Yep, he got that, too. He was gone by July at the age of 61. He never retired.
So, in three years, I’d like to be alive and healthy enough to wipe my own butt. Anything beyond that is gravy. But will I be? Who knows. I just heard about a terrible accident on I-96. A semi truck driver didn’t see a backup and slammed into a bunch of cars. Several caught fire. Four are dead, 17 hospitalized. I’m sure these people had plans, hopes, and dreams. So it doesn’t even have to be a lingering illness. Something can change your life in the blink of an eye.
Only today matters. Make good choices. Be kind. The future will take care of itself.
This is a picture of my brother at age 11 in front of our Uncle Mike’s Cessna Skymaster. It would be our first plane ride ever. He was enamored with flying and would earn his private pilot license many years later.
Life is a dark ride 
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