52 Summers

On Aging

When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don’t think I need your chattering.
I’m listening to myself.
Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!
Understanding if you got it,
Otherwise I’ll do without it!
When my bones are stiff and aching,
And my feet won’t climb the stair,
I will only ask one favor:
Don’t bring me no rocking chair.
When you see me walking, stumbling,
Don’t study and get it wrong.
'Cause tired don’t mean lazy
And every goodbye ain’t gone.
I’m the same person I was back then,
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.

— Maya Angelou

Well, this week I’m celebrating my 52nd birthday, and what a blessing it is to live another year. The number 52 holds a lot of meaning. There are 52 weeks in the standard calendar year. There are 52 cards in a standard deck (excluding the jokers, of course). The Aztec and Maya calendars had a calendar round that repeated every 52 years. So, I’ve just completed a life cycle, and I’m about to start afresh.

“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.17 (translated by Gregory Hays)

To “be good”—that’s a great goal for this new life cycle. I’m simply going to step into the next season with gratitude, curiosity, and the quiet courage to be good in whatever ways I can.

89 thoughts on “52 Summers”

  3. Happy Belated Birthday, Edward 🎉🎂
    52 summers and still shining strong ☀️
    Wishing you a new season full of Peace, Strength, and God’s Blessings 🙏🕊️

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  6. Belated “Happy Birthday” Edward.
    You’re inbetween my two children who are 50 and 54. Makes me feel old! Perhaps I need to also take on board, “the quiet courage to be good in whatever ways I can.” 😊

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    1. Thank you so much. I don’t think we ever truly reach a point where we achieve the goal of being good. It’s an ongoing process, and like you said, we’re still trying to be good until we depart this world.

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  21. Happy, Happy, Birthday, Edward! 🥰
    The reminder from Marcus Aurelius is powerful: “While you live, while it is in your power, be good.”
    Thank you so much for being a source of goodness and inspiration, my friend! 🥰

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  22. What a wonderful poem with all of the numbers on your side to celebrate your birthday with, Edward! Have the very best birthday whatever you do. Kick up your heels and have some fun as you are always good. The new cycle becomes you! ❤️🥂

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  23. Loved the “start afresh” perspective you are embracing at this special time. And the intention you set is truly honorable and compassionate. To “be good” is the ultimate way of living, as it is a clean reflection of our true, essential self (soul). I greatly appreciated the poem by Maya Angelou you shared, and I think it’s also wise to keep the words of Marcus Aurelius in sight. What’s more? Just wishing you a very bright birthday and illuminated phase of your life. May peace, love, joy, health, wealth, realization, and growth abound in your days! May your intention be your everyday reality! Take good care of yourself and enjoy the new cycle of your life! Happy 52nd birthday, Edward! Infinite blessings and light your way 🙏✨🌈

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  25. Beautiful, Edward. I love the hopefulness of this post. I think you are succeeding at showing up with, “gratitude, curiosity, and the quiet courage to be good in whatever ways I can.”

    Happy birthday, my friend!

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    1. Thank you very much, Jane. It’s all about perspective, I guess. To my 17 year-old, I’m ancient. 😂 She wrote that poem when she was around 50, so it’s never too late to start prepping mentally for the inevitable. It’s a great motivator to keep moving and living.

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