It has been almost exactly a year since I began writing my weekly column; “Under the Stetson.”
Brownwood News has given me the opportunity to share stories about life and how I have learned to live mine through my personal mistakes, and the mistakes of others.
I am careful not to preach or tell one how to live their life, but I have been forthcoming on how others have taught me to live mine.
As I’ve aged, it is becoming clearer to me that I really do not need much to get by. I have a loving family, my health, and the unconditional love of a great dog.
I have nothing to complain about, if I did, nobody would want to hear it anyway.
- Life goes by fast.
- The cavalry ain’t coming.
- Use your superpower of adding value to others.
- Help discover gifts in others.
- There is no indispensable man.
- Absorb defeat, deflect success.
- Pause before you react.
- Words give life or death.
- The best days are still ahead.
- Be the same person up or down.
These are just a few of the topics I’ve shared over the past year in my column. There is an intentional underlying theme in all of them.
Life is a mystery, how many of us really know what God has in store for us? You never arrive in life, you only stop to fuel up, occasionally change the tires and check the engine, but then you get back to the journey of living.
If given the opportunity to travel back in time and give advice to a 25-year-old Todd Howey, and knowing what I know now, what would I say?
After giving it some thought, I would say this;
“Never stop trying to be the person you want to become, and most importantly, love never fails. Oh, one more thing, buy a bunch of stock in a tech company called Apple.”
Nothing complicated or mind blowing. It is what I believe to be true, and how I am living my life today. Unfortunately, I missed on the Apple stock!
Would I go back and change things in my life? Absolutely! But not the big stuff. If I could change anything, it would be how I treated people. I would have been kinder, more concerned, authentic, and sincere.
I wouldn’t have said some of the things I said; and I would have said some things I should’ve said. Clear as mud?
Outside of that, I’m good, and I feel very lucky about that.
When people are harmed due to someone else’s poor decisions, that is always regrettable and something I think we would all like to go back to and change. You can try to make it right, but sometimes that is not even doable.
If given that chance to go back in time, I wonder what the 25-year-old me would think about the 60-year-old me sitting across the table from him. Would he like what he sees? Would he think to himself, ‘I can’t wait to be you.’ Would he tell me that I am the man he is hoping to become?
Or would he say, “Geez old man, give me some advice so I don’t end up like you.”
I’m not sure how that conversation would go, but I’m doing the best I can, and living the advice I just offered.
That’s enough for me, regardless of what that 25-year-old thinks. Besides, God ain’t through with me yet.
Thank you for reading. I am taking a short break from writing my column. My hope is that you look for it next week and become a little disappointed that it’s not there.
Talk to you soon –
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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to [email protected].