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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Aging / Maturity
- Published: 07/17/2021
Author's Note. This isn't a true story, but it is a true life. I have witnessed this story in many settings...and at many ages. It is fiction, but the story remains true.
*****
He looked back at his life. Some ups. Some downs. Some ordinary days. A few, very few... extraordinary days. Or moments. It wasn’t a well lived life. But it was a life lived. He was not perfect. Never claimed to be. Others were certain to point out his faults and foibles. A couple others were able to point out his good points. He spent most of his life deciding who he was based on what people around him, or those he loved... thought about him. He would be dead soon. A quiet death according to the Doctors.
He would simply slowly shut down major systems in his body. Supposedly the last to go would be his hearing. So he talked out loud. He apologized to people he hadn’t seen in decades. Some in as many as sixty years. Some were girls. Some were boys. Some were family. Some were not. He reviewed what he could have done, compared it to what he should have done, then to what he actually did. He was surprised at how easy it could have been.
He told the ones that at hurt him in some way, the near miss girlfriends, boyfriends, ex lovers, the ugly break with family members, the ones who betrayed his trust, abused his kindnesses, or rejected his love: “I forgive you.” And he did. He was surprised at how easy that was. He had no idea that two Nurses were sitting quietly next to his bed. Listening to every word of a man they had come to admire in his last days.
They thought about the things he was saying. Their own Dad’s and Mother’s came to their minds. Their old boyfriends, their hubbies, their schoolgirl feuds. Their children and dreams …all the things the old man was talking about. Like he was guiding them through a series of choices. The tears and soft smiles and occasional leaps of anger followed immediately by judgement. A judgement that was judged to be callous, unfeeling, undeserved, beneath them, flowed along with the one sided conversation. They too, started to forgive.
Finally, out loud, he said in a voice filled with compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and unconditional love: “I forgive you.” He said it to himself. The Nurses echoed it from his bed side. They thought he heard them. Because he lifted one hand in a benediction. A wave that forgave them too. He whispered one more word just before he died:
“Peace."
Peace.(Kevin Hughes)
Author's Note. This isn't a true story, but it is a true life. I have witnessed this story in many settings...and at many ages. It is fiction, but the story remains true.
*****
He looked back at his life. Some ups. Some downs. Some ordinary days. A few, very few... extraordinary days. Or moments. It wasn’t a well lived life. But it was a life lived. He was not perfect. Never claimed to be. Others were certain to point out his faults and foibles. A couple others were able to point out his good points. He spent most of his life deciding who he was based on what people around him, or those he loved... thought about him. He would be dead soon. A quiet death according to the Doctors.
He would simply slowly shut down major systems in his body. Supposedly the last to go would be his hearing. So he talked out loud. He apologized to people he hadn’t seen in decades. Some in as many as sixty years. Some were girls. Some were boys. Some were family. Some were not. He reviewed what he could have done, compared it to what he should have done, then to what he actually did. He was surprised at how easy it could have been.
He told the ones that at hurt him in some way, the near miss girlfriends, boyfriends, ex lovers, the ugly break with family members, the ones who betrayed his trust, abused his kindnesses, or rejected his love: “I forgive you.” And he did. He was surprised at how easy that was. He had no idea that two Nurses were sitting quietly next to his bed. Listening to every word of a man they had come to admire in his last days.
They thought about the things he was saying. Their own Dad’s and Mother’s came to their minds. Their old boyfriends, their hubbies, their schoolgirl feuds. Their children and dreams …all the things the old man was talking about. Like he was guiding them through a series of choices. The tears and soft smiles and occasional leaps of anger followed immediately by judgement. A judgement that was judged to be callous, unfeeling, undeserved, beneath them, flowed along with the one sided conversation. They too, started to forgive.
Finally, out loud, he said in a voice filled with compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and unconditional love: “I forgive you.” He said it to himself. The Nurses echoed it from his bed side. They thought he heard them. Because he lifted one hand in a benediction. A wave that forgave them too. He whispered one more word just before he died:
“Peace."
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
07/19/2021Thanks Mayra,
As different as we are, the trajectory of our lives always leads to forgiveness and moving on without the burdens of anger or hate. Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
07/19/2021Thanks Gail,
I am kinda living this story right now...except for the "dying" part. I have reached contentment. Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Aziz
07/17/2021Wow what an unbelievable masterpiece! Forgiveness and love are the backbone of our living. Peace
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
07/17/2021Thanks Aziz,
Isn't it wonderful that both you and I broached the same topic in our stories? The value of old age, the wisdom that comes with forgiveness, and the true nature of love. You understood much younger than I did, but we reached the same conclusions!
Smiles, Kevin
COMMENTS (5)