Jeff Kennett: Even if tough times we should be grateful for the gift of life

With so many people experiencing more challenging economic circumstances, there is every reason for all of us to find and promote the good things in life.

Bill Shorten and Jeff Kennett at the state funeral service for Father Bob Maguire on May 05, 2023 in Melbourne. Picture: Sam Tabone

We have seen over the last ten days or so the death of three ex politicians.

Former Labor MPs Simon Crean and Tom Roper, and ex-Liberal MP Ross Smith.

Of course, over the same time probably hundreds of community members unknown to me,

not with a public reputation, have died, but their passing has been recorded only among their family and friends.

None of us will avoid death, it is a fact of life. Deaths, whether they be by the natural passing of time, illness or accident such as the terrible bus accident recently in NSW, are always sad.

Deaths at an early age particularly so.

Any death causes me to reflect, not only on the worthiness of lives lived to date, but importantly, on where we are today and how to spend our future.

To that end, life is to be celebrated every day and never taken for granted.

Waking up each morning, is best expressed as the Gift of Life.

We never know when the Grim Reaper will reach down to pick us up, therefore we should never take a long life for granted.

Never become complacent about the “gift of life”, every day is important.

As young people I suspect we simply do take life for granted. Most of us are healthy and strong, and as we develop through our formative years we feel everything is possible and at our disposal.

As we mature into our 20s, 30s and 40s, we better understand that we have to make choices, particularly if families have become part of our responsibilities.

The majority of what we have in material form will be of our own making. We left the cocoon of our families when we finished our schooling, and as we exercise our own choices the outcomes are a result of our own choices and effort.

Into our 50s and 60s our responsibilities change, never disappearing towards those we have welcomed into the world, but different.

More time to ourselves, less need to be fully occupied on earning to provide for family. More time for friends, travel, to read and reflect.

(Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Then into our 70s and 80s, for many it’s retirement. But that carries its risks. One must stay active in retirement. Doing different things, but the objective must be to go to bed each night

mentally and physically tired, so we sleep well.

Idle bodies and minds can so often make for a boring person, who becomes so often centred on self rather the community in which they live.

With so many families and individuals experiencing more difficult economic circumstances, there is every reason for all of us to find and promote the good things in life.

To keep the confidence and morale at the highest levels possible.

Life should therefore be the greatest reason to celebrate every day.

Music, the arts, sport give us not only the opportunity to participate, but also the reason to move to a different place for a few hours whenever we participate in those endeavours.

To leave the stress and anxiety of everyday life outside our doors.

Even the simple exercise of walking alone, with family members, with pet dogs, with friends and or groups is the simplest and cheapest exercise, and a distraction from those realities of life.

Throughout Victoria, thousands of parks, gardens, forests are just waiting to provide comfort and solace for our footsteps.

Our shoreline and beaches, at the right time of the year give cause for celebration and healthy

exercise.

Then there is the joy of our own gardens, those of us who are fortunate enough to have them. Unlike finished paintings, our gardens are continually changing in colour and products.

Gardens need attention, again a very healthy pursuit, where outcomes are so much a result of our own physical effort.

Finally, there are those among the community, thousands upon thousands who

volunteer their own time to assist those less fortunate. I suspect they truly appreciate the gift of life.

Such people are the real champions within our community. Quietly and selflessly giving time to improve the lives of so many others.

Of course, there is so much to celebrate, to do, on top of whatever it may be that occupies so much of our time to earn the income we need in order to put food on the table.

Governments have a responsibility in contributing to the environment in which we live. In helping create the energy that builds our confidence. But it is far from governments responsibility alone…

We, as individuals, as families, must take the lead. In setting the example through deed not words.

Waking up each morning will always be the best gift we receive.

Never take it for granted! Never waste it!

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is a former Victorian premier.