Live A Long, Good, Eventful Life

I was talking with an elderly man this past weekend—a dear, dear friend of mine. He just found out last week that he has cancer. It could be malignant. At that moment I said to myself, “Self, life is a very fragile and temporary belonging. It just doesn’t last long at all.”

I am reminded of that very fact this morning, as I glance at some what-had-been fresh-cut flowers in my study. A few days ago they were so bright, vibrant, and full of life. Now, they are dull in color, drooping, and a truly pitiful sight. The life of a human isn’t too much different than that of a flower when compared to the lifespan of the vast universe, or the earth, or the history of the human species.  

My elderly buddy-old-pal—sort of like a grandfather to me—made an interesting statement, however. I shall never forget it. “I lived a long, good, eventful life.” Those words shall live with me until the day when I—hopefully—have the opportunity to say the same thing to my youthful compatriots when I am eighty-some years of age and at death’s door. And, yes, my aged friend has lived a long, good, eventful life.  

I asked myself this morning, “Self, am I walking the same path which my elderly friend has, where, when I have finished my journey through life, I can utter the same aphorism—‘I have lived a long, good, eventful life’?” I sure hope so. And to a large degree, I think I am.

Okay, so what does this tear-jerking, mushy-mushy, heart-tugging story have to do with wine? Well, wine is much more than a fermented grape juice. I am not saying it is everything, but it encompasses a lot more than just an alcoholic beverage by which one can drown away his/her worries in drunkenness. It signifies a stop-and-smell-the-roses style of life. 

A long, good, eventful life is not determined by the funds one has stored up in retirement or stocks, or by the size of his/her house, or the car parked in front, or the occupation, or even the selection of wines stored in the basement cellar. It is a sum total of the experiences lived and shared, the fun experienced, the quality (and quantity) of time spent with family and friends. In other words, there is a material drink of wine, and a conceptual, shall we say, “culture of wine.” France, Italy, the UK, Argentina, Chile, and Spain are just a few countries whose national cultures are more prone to exemplify a certain “culture of wine.” More on this next time. 

Stop and smell the roses, as they say. Be balanced. Live the culture of wine. Take time to actually enjoy life, people, and wine. Then, maybe you can say as well, “I have lived a long, good, eventful life.”