A Life Well Lived

  ”Don’t dwell on what has passed away or what is yet to be…”

 —Leonard Cohen, from his song Anthem

 My neighbor  just turned 94. She gave herself an intimate party, complete with a catered  dinner. The  guests toasted her and shared stories of how she had influenced their lives;  one  friend wrote a  song for her and we all joined in. We sang Happy Birthday in  English and the  Spanish birthday  song Las Mañanitas. We all went home inspired,  and a bit more connected to what is possible in one lifetime.

 Though a bit unsteady on her feet, she still rides her horse as often as possible, and mentors her talented  young gardener in painting. Her small ranch is one of the most beautiful and  simply  elegant environments I’ve ever been in. Her eyes sparkle still at the mention of  anything to do  with horses or art. That is her secret; she’s been doing what she loves  the most in the world her  entire life. I once transcribed her life’s story; not once was  there a looking back, a regret, or a  pining for something different.

 Like the lush foliage of her garden, the great canopied pepper trees that shade her  property,and the magnificent horses that live there, she hasn’t held back from what is her natural calling-to be all that she can be with what she  was  given. In her case it’s been an illustrious career as a painter, an equestrian  extraordinaire, and a steadfast friend to many, many people. And don’t forget that steady twinkle in her eye.  Salúd. To a life well lived.