If you’re lucky; you’ll get to experience the 3 stages of life.

1. The Developmental stage. (birth to 21)
2. The Productive stage (22 to 60)
3. The Tertiary stage or the remainder of your life.

The developmental stage is perhaps the most important. Your life grid is determined by everyone you see, hear and meet.  In many cases, the best examples are not necessarily your parents.  But beware, should you have less than great examples for parents, they will have a direct or counter effect on your life.  Your conscience will decide.

If you have the parents of the year, you’re a lucky kid. You will know right from wrong and have seen it practiced.  Instead of spoiling you with the latest toys to show their concern, they will fund a college account.  Your parents will understand the need to help you through the learning process so you will get good enough grades AND understand the importance of a continued education.  If you’re truly lucky your parents will help you find your inner voice or passion.

Keep in mind, the above paragraph is like a hole in one, a 300 game in bowling, hitting for the cycle in Baseball or pitching a perfect game. Parents are the same as you and I.  They are humans trying to make their way through the jungle of life.  We are all different and most of us will not hear our parents advice (out of teen rebellion) or in odd counter-intuitive conditions, the child’s mind, which has been programmed by a church service or really good neighbors or perhaps by God on the other side, is able to see the parent’s wrongful behavior and say: “When I’m older, I’m not going to ….etc.”.

The good or bad part of the developmental stage is that it has a direct/proportional effect on your productive stage.

YOUR PRODUCTIVE STAGE

The 80/20 rule which you have heard thru-out your life is best described in your productive stage. What is the 80/20 rule?  In business it means that 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your customers, or certain sales, or certain district stores. Why does Christmas come sooner and sooner each year?  80% of a stores profits come during the holiday season.  Roughly 20% of the fiscal year.

In your productive stage of life (22 to 60) what you believe, do and say comes from 80% of what you see during your developmental stage, and 20% of what you are taught or told during the same time period. Sadly, what happens to you during your developmental years can lead to serious unintended consequences.  If you grow up in a liberal house hold where sex is looked upon without consequences (Like social disease or procreation) you will not even consider the unintended consequences of your sexual actions.  On the other hand if you are brought up in a “Leave it to Beaver” household, sex epitomizes the manifestation of spiritual unity. (Yeah think about that for a while).  It is something that you treat with respect and is held as something sacred.  It means much more than a penis and a vagina.

THE TERTIARY STAGE

This is the stage of your life when you accept that your physical gas tank is getting low. Your odometer has turned over. (Showing my age).  You realize that the above stages are BS as described.  You understand the term “Outlier”. (A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample).  During your “golden years” you have two choices.  Wait to die or plan how to go down making a statement.  Waiting to die is probably the quickest way to die.  (And there are so many ways your God can bring you home). But if you have a mission; it will stimulate the parts of your brain that keep your vital organs or nerves functioning.

Look at the Reverend Billy Graham. He has been quoted as saying that he is ready for God to bring him home. I don’t agree with his dogma, but he’s 97 years old. (Let me add that I do not question his Christianity) I frequently ask myself why God doesn’t bring him home. I believe that your most important work can be done after 60 if you are inspired to do so.  At that age, you’ve had time to quit blaming your upbringing.  You’ve accepted the mistakes you made during your productive years and you realize that your accomplishments mean little in the overall “Big Picture”.

Something you discover after the rollercoaster comes back to the station is the existence of your spiritual life. It’s something that’s been in you since you became you.  I don’t know if you are born with a spirit or if it sprouts during the years of life that you can’t remember. (Less than 4 years of age).

Once you accept the existence of your spiritual life, the morality aspect of your life comes into clearer focus. Fear of God turns into respect for God.  Respect for God turns into Love for God.  Perhaps in the end, that is why we were given this very short human experience.

It’s just my 2 cents. Live each day as if it’s your last.  I’ve been alive to see Billy Graham live to the age of 97. (He’s still going) Mother Theresa only made it to 87 but she also spent a great deal of her life in 3^rd world cultures.

I was alive in 1959 when Ritchie Valens died at the age of 17. To this day his songs as well as Buddy Holly’s are recorded by people like myself and others.

Remember this: “If you get to heaven there is only one thing that you cannot do in heaven that you can on this spinning ball, lead spirits to God.

Maybe that’s why God keeps Billy Graham around?