Becoming our Best Selves

For those of us dealing with aging, we need to ask ourselves if we like the person we have come to be. If not, we might want to make some late life changes. Have we become cranky? Maybe we need to find ways to be more even-tempered and peaceful. Have we become selfish? Maybe we need to work on being more generous and thoughtful. Are we self-centered? Perhaps we ought to work on being more other-centered. 

This aging business makes us more transparent. We see our faults more clearly and may realize we don't like some of our weaknesses. In the past, we could gloss over our deficiencies because we were busy with our careers and families and hobbies. Now, we are limited in the things we can do, and some of our loved ones may have died, so we have more time for some introspection.

We don't want to be full of regret and self-condemnation, but knowing we will soon meet our God makes us want to be a better person. We realize there is much room for improvement, and we have only a short time left on this earth. We'd like to be remembered for the good we have done rather than the mistakes we have made in the past. 

Of course, we do need to accept ourselves, warts and all. But, God calls us anew each day to be the best  persons we can be. He gives us graces to help us keep becoming our best selves. We have many role models in the saints and holy people who have gone before us, many of them our relatives and friends.

So, if we don't like the person we have come to be, there is still time to make some changes. It will require effort and dedication. As St. Benedict reminds his followers, "Run while you have the light of life, lest the darkness of death overtake you."