Time Marches On

Time is measured for many of us from events in our lives that have meaning and strong remembrances.  To each and every one of us, those special times may vary depending upon our individual experiences.  However, there are those events that resound with the majority because of the history shaking significance that touches all of our lives at the same time.  Such an event was September 11th, 2001. It seems almost impossible that event was nearly twenty years ago. Yet, we still measure many of our life experiences from that date forward.

The recent pandemic underscores the truth of that last statement. By necessity, we have reshaped our lives and not necessarily always to our liking.  For a majority of us, our homes became our offices. The home front was our boardroom and workshop for assembling the tools necessary to achieve our business and personal goals. 
 
Four different Presidents have led our country since 9/11– George W. Bush;  Barack Obama; Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  The significance of each of their accomplishments underscores the impact they have had on our collective lives.
 
We have seen the Stock Market soar beyond our imagination, and bottom-out almost as quickly to our amazement. We have witnessed men and women’s achievements in space even reaching Mars, and then a lack of ability to sustain harmony here on earth. The closing of our favorite haunts and the impact of the dismissal of class study on our children is still to be assessed.  Yes, there have been many “ups and downs” in the past twenty years.  The question is then, “What do we have to look forward to?”
 
When I was a young man, there was a  motion picture series entitled “THE MARCH OF TIME” which centered on the days’ events that shaped the future of mankind.  I  looked forward to each one of those features on the movie screen because, with few exceptions, they pointed to a brighter more fulfilling lifetime ahead.  Maybe I’m an incurable optimist, but I see and feel that we have much to learn from the past history of our country.  We are a people who desire to create and to succeed. 
 
Thus, it is easy to realize that we have just begun to envision a brighter, more enlightened time ahead.  The “long day’s nights” that we have experienced are coming to an end.  We are starting to breathe the fresh air of personal freedoms again – planning vacations and family gatherings that will have new and many happy, emotional returns. We are opening the doors to our treasured past and are finding new avenues of expression that will pay personal dividends in a quest for happiness and security.   Hopefully we have learned from past mistakes and will take our combined experiences to heart and heal wounds that have divided us.
 
There is still much to be achieved and plenty of time if we will be patient and stay strong to accomplish all we desire.  We are a people who are noteworthy in our strengths to remember our pasts, but with the foresight to not overlook our future.  It is that reflection that helps us to remember that the “past is merely a prologue.”  Enjoy today and keep your eyes wide open to what lies ahead.  Let’s make the next twenty years the best remembered of them all!
 
TIME MARCHES ON!

This article was written by Norm Wilkens

Norm Wilkens is a nationally recognized speaker and writer, Norman Wilkens has traveled to forty-seven of the fifty states speaking on topics of marketing, advertising and public relations. His most noteworthy subjects include: Healthcare Marketing; Multi-generational travel and  Baby Boomers - their contribution to society and economics. He is presently serving as Midwestern Contributor to California’s AAA WESTWAYS Magazine.

Among Wilkens’ current activities are the Butler University Alumni Board of Directors; Butler’s Central Indiana Alumni Chapter Board; Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the new Communication College of Butler; Board of Directors of Ruth Lilly Educational Foundation; Salvation Army of Indiana Advisory Board and as an Elder at Second Presbyterian Church of Indiana.