My Soul

HAS A HAT

My friend Petra Kolber is a soulful speaker, energetic educator and action activator. She was in Park City this week and interviewed me for a new series on aging.

One of the questions she asked was…

What’s the most important piece of advice you want to send to the aging world? 

I wish I could answer that question in a short, brief sentence. But since I can’t, I’ll share this touching message, My Soul Has a Hat, from Mario de Andrade (San Paolo 1893-1945) who was a poet, novelist, essayist and musicologist….

Thank you to Chip Conley from Wisdom Well for sharing this message. 

MY SOUL HAS A HAT

I counted my years
& realized that I have
Less time to live by,
Than I have lived so far.

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure,
But when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures
& internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience
To stand absurd people who,
Despite their chronological age,
Have not grown up.

My time is too short:
I want the essence,
My spirit is in a hurry.
I do not have much candy
In the package anymore.

I want to live next to humans,
Very realistic people who know
How to laugh at their mistakes,
Who are not inflated by their own triumphs,
& who take responsibility for their actions.
In this way, human dignity is defended
And we live in truth and honesty.

It is the essentials that make life useful.
I want to surround myself with people
Who know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life
Have learned to grow, with sweet touches of the soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry.
I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.
I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts.

I am sure they will be exquisite,
Much more than those eaten so far.
My goal is to reach the end satisfied
And at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

We have two lives
& the second begins when you realize you only have one.