“Sixty, no less!”, that was something I had always thought to myself, but I said it out loud at a recent class reunion and noticed many of my friends' eyes light up with joy.
It seems that this way of speaking is very effective in helping people escape the fear of old age. But when the meeting ended, the afternoon sun had gilded everywhere, and when I stepped out into the yard to pick up a leaf that had just fallen in front of me, I felt like I had just received a letter of golden leaves, a letter announcing a great and most general law of heaven and earth, of nature. Well, I accepted it, why not! The age of sixty is an age full of contradictions, people often jokingly say "aging out of sync" is talking about this period of the year, ignoring worldly affairs but turning to listen to myself every day, every hour, every minute.
Without darkness, how can we see the light of day? Without a healthy moment, how can we realize that our body is starting to weaken and ache?! So when we can no longer lift a flower pot or a bucket of water, instead of letting sadness and weakness gnaw at us, we should be happy that there was a time when we were healthy, when we considered these pots and buckets as trivial matters.
In the literary world, there is the writer To Hoai, who lived to be ninety-five years old but spent sixty years writing and publishing “only a hundred and sixty books”. It can be inferred that the age of sixty, seventy, eighty was his most vigorous age! So if his descendants, “only sixty years old”, were burdened with old age, it would be “embarrassing” and shameful!
Or like writer Ma Van Khang - Nguyen Thanh Long, author of "Quiet Sa Pa", the older he gets, the more he writes. "There are twenty novels and two hundred short stories, that's all!". Every time I look at his new short stories published regularly in newspapers, I imagine a "heliograph" that relies on sunburn to determine the sun. People live positively like that, determining what is good and what is good, no one is foolish enough to determine the value of their life by the trivial pain in their joints, or the fluctuating blood fat or blood pressure...
Just follow those examples to focus on work, to live happily, to devote myself to dreams, to love, to not be afraid. Every time I face myself, I often tell myself that, but sometimes, like after this 43rd anniversary class reunion, I advise myself to know how to read the yellow leaf letter in my hand to know that my clock is entering the default phase of turning back. The time of life is limited, so we must know how to cherish every second, every minute left to live the most meaningful life, must work and live happily with natural sincerity and use the most optimal method possible.
I have a friend who lives a very neat life. Whatever he can do, he does it immediately, determined not to let it drag on, especially when it comes to paying off debts. He even prepares for his own funeral and sacrificial offerings, instructing his family carefully. His philosophy is "human life is impermanent, don't lie down feeling guilty and worried. When you were born, you cried, when you close your eyes, you must smile!". But then on the day he "passed away", I still witnessed the last tear smeared in the corner of his sad eyes, his family had many worries that had not been resolved. Human life is not always two times two is four, but being neat to the extent possible is also an effort, being human is a blessing, being a complete human is a privilege.
I remember reading somewhere the philosophy of neatness: “Five years, six months, seven days”, meaning that when you reach your fifties, you should only plan your work and life within a year, for the sixth year, you should plan by month, and for the seventh year, the most important unit of time is the day. Otherwise, there is a risk of it being unfinished, unfinished, and incomplete.
I held the yellow leaf in my hand for a long time, examining it closely until I realized that besides the golden color shining on the seemingly perfect surface of the leaf, there were also a few places with holes, damage and healed scars, very beautiful scars. Suddenly I nodded and realized as if I had just read an important message on the yellow leaf letter: Nothing is perfect! Imperfection is also a beautiful trait in humans. Don't we see that the world of art, music , and painting is created by those unfinished love affairs?! Thinking like that, my heart suddenly felt lighter, more peaceful, more understanding, more profound what the yellow leaf letter told me: be generous with yourself, everything will pass quickly. Live sincerely every moment and be generous - with - yourself!
And lo, on the yellow-leafed letter there was a postscript written in strong, leaf-veined handwriting: When you are busy with your dreams, you will see how much this world is worth living.
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