Life Lessons, Friendship, and A Reunion *Weekend Open Thread*

Here we are in a new year. Hard to believe it is already 2017, but that leads me to some “Life Lessons We Learn Too Late,” though hopefully not TOO late to still learn from them. And hey, it is still earlier enough that if you do New Year’s Resolutions, a few of these might make it to your list.

So here are a few of those “Life Lessons” as offered as responses to a quora.com question on the topic:

1. Time passes much more quickly than you realize.

2. If you don’t take care of your body early then it won’t take care of you later. Your world becomes smaller each day as you lose mobility, continence and sight.

3. Sex and beauty may fade, but intimacy and friendship only grow.

4. People are far more important than any other thing in your life. No hobby, interest, book, work is going to be as important to you as the people you spend time with as you get older.

5. Money talks. It says “Goodbye.” If you don’t plan your finances for later in life, you’ll wish you had.

6. Any seeds you planted in the past, either good or bad, will begin to bear fruit and affect the quality of your life as you get older — for better or worse. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

The original post invites people to offer their own “Life Lessons Learned Too Late,” though it is never too late to learn something, is it? How about what life lessons you have learned from which others might learn?

Here’s one: take time to play with your friends. You’re never too old to find a way to play together, be it cards, word games, or what have you. These two below play together by racing around all over creation, but that’s because they are a horse and dog. You KNOW how I love those animals, so this is a perfect combination to show how friends play together is done (h/t IHeartHorses.com):

Aren’t they just amazing? The dog gives the horse a run for his money, that’s for sure! And she is also smart in figuring out trajectories to intercept the horse when he takes off. Smart! And they look like they are having a ton of fun. That is the point of playing with friends, isn’t it? To have fun? These two definitely have something to teach on that level. I know I have a huge smile on my face after watching them. I hope you do, too.

Another “Life Lesson” might be to not shy away from a reunion with friends from the past. The following reunion is a beautiful one to behold as three horses are reunited after one of them lived elsewhere for a bit (h/t IHeartHorses.com):

This might also be a lesson in never giving up hope or dreams. That Sue was able to get this handsome boy back after so much time had passed speaks to the power of hope lived and dreams fulfilled.

And it also speaks to the power of reunions between old friends (along with the power of play). Whatever had happened in the past was the past, but here they were all together, reunited at long last. It was as if no time had passed at all.

I imagine that many of us have friends like that. We might not see them often, or even for years, but once we are reunited, it is as if no time had come between us at all. That is the beauty of real friendships. They stand the test of time no matter how much time has passed.

One last “Life Lesson,” allowing our past to inform us, to teach us, and to make us stronger, as Templeton Thompson sings about in the following piece:

Yep, getting to that place in your life where there are no regrets is definitely a Life Lesson worth learning, and definitely worth passing along. Every road we take makes us who we are, and teaches us something. And yes, hopefully makes us “stronger in the broken places.”

That’s it for me. Again, I invite you to share what “Life Lessons” you have learned that you can pass along. It’s never too late to impart some wisdom.

This is the Weekend Open Thread. Have at it!