"Past and Future Perfect Tense" We GEMMS have all moved beyond our forties since beginning this website in 1999; but legitimately are still 40-Miners. Since then we all have experienced many joyous, challenging, and some not-so-Eureka times. So life goes on. We're just getting older. Getting older just means that we are not as young as we used to be. Our lives may face more of the complexities of dealing with physical and mental lapses than our children and non-baby boomers, but we have every right to enjoy what could be the best years of our lives. Some terrms echo: Grow Up Let Go Past is Past Can't Go Back Wish I Had, Should Have, Could Have, etc. It's Too Late to Change It's All Downhill From Here We have heard them, thought them, maybe even said them. Ignore them! We still have choices; it's not over until it's over. There are two books that I am recommending: Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart, by Gordon Livingston, M.D. A very common sense directive for us to look at ourselves honestly, responsibly, and to let go of the emotional and societal crutches that keep us from enjoying and living life. The Second Half of Life, by Angeles Arrien Ms. Arrien leads us to open the "eight gates of wisdom" so that we can shed the skins of our past and embrace our transformation to awakening and self-knowledge. I hope you read them. Both authors are telling us that as we look back and look forward, there are lessons to be learned, memories to be understood, experiences to be reconciled. However, the main thrust of their books is to tell us that we can have a wonderful future by starting afresh today and every day; experiment, explore, learn, love - be happy. We have earned the privilege to make our future perfect and to leave the past where it belongs. Write us with your opinions. To write, click on our: Comments button!