By Roger Desmarais:
What would all your old and new friends say in their eulogy of you when it is over? What could—would—you do between now and then to influence their feelings and thoughts? What are the hidden goals in your life right now that would reverberate in your world if you acted on the impulse to create that world? If you could look in the forward-view mirror of your life, what would you do differently—more of, less of, the same?
You just celebrated your 120th birthday.
The celebration of your life was complete
Because you had completed your life—
Not just chronologically as in years
But more so developmentally as in desire.
The celebratory statements rang true,
Praise was in the air,
Your life was eulogized reverberating
Truths you knew to be true
Because you scripted your life
From now until then and
Lived those prescriptions completely.
People spoke not of youth and beauty,
Not of social status or accrued wealth,
Nothing was said of political stance
Religious posturing was never noted,
Intellectual stature was obliquely hidden
As were stock market issues
And start-up successes.
People spoke not of youth and beauty,
Not of social status or accrued wealth,
Nothing was said of political stance
Religious posturing was never noted,
Intellectual stature was obliquely hidden
As were stock market issues
And start-up successes.
People spoke of your inner Elder,
Fashioned over these last years
Through meditation and contemplation,
Developed through inner work to
Forgive and have compassion,
Nurture and love,
Selflessness and readiness to help others.
Individuals shared their experiences of your
Intuitive insight and living rightly,
Your passion for the truth and the light,
Your courage in the face of handicaps,
Your positive attitude,
Even towards the glass already half-full.
Your friends spoke of your moral radiance,
Your ineluctable guidance towards truth,
Your north star magnet for reality,
Your commitment to grown old graciously.
Your children,
Smiling proudly through their tears,
Movingly spoke of your love and direction,
Prescriptions and suggestions
Caring for their persons
IN you care for their lives—
Looking through foibles
Seeing the larger version of development
Taking place in the living room
Of their lives.
Your spouse,
Lovingly shared your love of meditation,
To quiet your soul;
Your version of contemplation
To storm your version of consciousness;
Your constant work on higher values
To show honesty and justice;
Your commitment to relationships
The hallmark of your life;
Your desire to right the wrongs
Of your past miss-actions;
Your passion for the inner work
To share your dreams of the world
With the world.
You even had a few words to share
Relative to refashioning your life
Through psychological intervention
On your own psyche—
'Reframing' the past with compassion,
Admitting to transgressions with absolution,
Forging real and imagined slights directly,
Expanding your vision of life
To include the good, the bad, and the ugly—
Celebrating all your life as as life lived
So as to be who you are at this time—
Whole, full and Completed.
To you we lift our full lives,
And share the nectar of living
IN a salute to growing old
Graciously.
So now,
Having relished the praise of virtually
Living out of those commitments,
Comes the time to
Live out those commitments in reality,
ON this side of 120.
There is much more work to do
Before you sleep.
Dr. Roger Desmarais has written poetry on his experiences as a consultant to executives and their executive teams as a way to more easily connect with the Emotional Intelligent part of the total leader. This has also opened the opportunity to write poetry to define the Spiritual Intelligence that is the foundation for Ethical and Responsible Leadership—which is a growing request. His recently published book of corporate poetry taps the three intelligences: Intellectual, Spiritual, and Emotional: “Disruptive Poetry: Upsetting the Perfect Corporate Status Quo”