Too good not to share . . . 

To those of us who are now in our twilight years, this is a worthwhile read … profound message from the famous novelist YANG JIANG (杨绛) written at age of 103. She passed away at age 105 on May 2016:*

*Below is her beautiful meaningful  message 善待暮年
Be Kind to Twilight Years

From the first cry on coming to the earth till the hairs turn grey, the baggage of our journey through life has filled with all bitterness and sweetness as well as ups and downs. Next, how happy can we be on the path of our twilight years will depend on our physical mental condition.

在曾經的歲月裡，
每個人都會有大小不一的光環，
但這光環已是“過去式”。
當光環退去，
誰都是柴米油鹽，誰都是一介布衣。
Life’s glory and splendor are all behind us and we are now just going through the daily chores of keeping life going.

“我們曾如此渴望命運的波瀾，
到最後才發現：
人生最曼妙的風景，
竟是内心的淡定與從容。
Once we yearned for a glamorous life, now we realize the most wonderful and beautiful scenery in life are moments of tranquility.

不要满懷焦灼期待子女常回家看看。
子女們有各自的生活和事業，
他們像永不停歇的陀螺一樣，
上有老下有小，
“老”是“夕陽”，
“小”是“朝陽”。
“朝陽”總比“夕陽”
更令人關注和憧憬，
這是動物繁衍生息的法則，
是規律，
誰也不能違背。
記住，
年輕人永遠比老年人忙。
Do not anxiously wait for the visits of our children. They have their own lives to take care of; they are like tops being spun continuously, sandwiched between the young and old. The old one is the evening sun, whereas the young is the morning sun, and of course the young will get more attention; this is nature’s law. It is human race survival cycle and no one can defy it. Please remember: our children is always more busy than us.

人生，
夫妻也好，母女父子也罷，
不管是怎樣的水乳交融、
心心相繫，
每個人都是生命的獨立個體，
因此，
我們要學會在孤獨的時候给自己安慰，
在寂寞的時候给自己温暖。
In life whether it is husband and wife or parents and children , no matter how harmonious and how close they are, each one is unique and an independent entity. Therefore we need to learn to cope with loneliness by finding ways to console and cheer ourselves up when feeling lonely.

老要有老的風骨，
老要有老的優雅，
正如春華秋實，
四季輪迴，各有風采.
In reaching our golden age, we have our self esteem and graciousness just like the cycle of the four seasons, each has its own grace and beauty. Smile & enjoy each phase of life.

Twilight years is the beginning of a good phase in life. It is calm, peaceful, unhurried & joyful. We have to maintain peace, be less demanding, more accomodative & forgiving, not to over reeact when receiving attention of being ignored. To stay or to godoes not matter anymore. Keep smiling whyile moving ahead each day and be kind to ourselves.

Being honest & sincere will make friendships last. Do not expect a return on whatever you have given to others, after all, making others happy is life’s greatest achievement.