Today – on the 22nd day of a month in the 22nd year of a century and a millennium – I am exactly 22,000 days old. That is a lot of days.
Some dates stand out for their joy and beauty:
March 2, 1981…June 9, 1990…August 26, 1995…August 6, 2022
Others stand out for their horror and ugliness:
December 9, 1980…April 12, 1999…September 11, 2001…January 6, 2021
But most of my days – good and bad, important and average – have faded into the past with their dates and events forgotten.
Each of the thousands of days I made love are sacred.
Each of the hundreds of days I went to a concert, a play, an opera, or an exhibition are special.
Each of the dozens of days I performed in front of an audience, or had something I wrote published are milestones.
Each day that I learned something new, or went somewhere new, or met someone new has made my life richer.
Each day I ran, or biked, or laid in the sun made the weight of life lighter. Even the days when I sat inside and did nothing but watch the rain or snow fall had their own sweet beauty.
The ordinary days, when I got up and went to school or work were sustained by the love of my family and friends. Even the worst ones, spent sick or sad or lonely, were made bearable by the memories of better days in the past and the hope of better ones in the future. I would gladly endure the worst of them again to experience the joy of the best.
Each of those 22,000 days of sunrises and sunsets, of meals shared with family and friends, of dreams and nightmares, I saw love in the eyes of others and knew that they saw it in mine. Each day has been a personal gift from the universe to me. The only way I know to show gratitude for those gifts is to take all the love I have been given and to give it back.
The late Graeme Edge, drummer and poet for the Moody Blues, was inspired to share these thoughts on the subject:
Even though I know it's only me and my dreams That drive me, so let me go, please Let me go onto tomorrow One day at a time Now I know the only foe is time 22, 000 days, 22, 000 days It's not a lot, it's all you've got 22, 000 days 22, 000 nights, 22, 000 nights It's all you know, so start the show And this time This time feel the flow, get it right Now the time when I first saw you is over and gone Then I knew my life with you would go on Knowing you so much longer I've change in mind, change for you You have changed to mine 22, 000 days, 22, 000 days It's not a lot, it's all you've got 22, 000 days 22, 000 nights, 22, 000 nights It's all you know, so start the show And this time This time feel the flow, get it right Everybody knows It always shows Wasting time's an aggravation No time for confrontation You want to take a lot By love, by law or stealth Time's the only real wealth you have got
Words & Music by Mike Power 