The Child Is Father To The Man?

Who am I? 
 I started out on this journey called life 67 years ago today, and have been in search of something almost since the day that I could walk. We never had much money as I was growing up. The only thing that my mother and father seemed to have an abundance of was mouths to feed. We struggled, and I can remember this well. Many dinners of rice with milk and sugar, or something called creamed macaroni. We were never hungry, but the food, at times, was meager and not what the 'Experts' today would call 'Healthy'... and yet, we survived... hell, we even flourished. As time went on, conditions improved and so did the food. The funny thing, I never knew, at the time, that I was lacking anything. We always felt loved and comforted. My family, the core of my family group, and my extended family of Aunts and Uncles and Cousins and people in the neighborhood that were called family, always had plenty of love and affection to give to us. We may have been poor, but we were safe, secure, and loved. 
  The one thing that I noticed about my family is that they were very giving and ready to help anyone in need. If we didn't have a lot to eat, they still would find enough to feed someone else who needed it. They also always found enough money, even when we were short, to take care of a charity that needed it. When Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon was on, they would pledge five or ten dollars, even though that was a lot of money for us in those days. It was always instilled in my mind, and then my heart, that no matter how tough things were for us, or for me, there was always someone who had it tougher. 
  When we were being taught that other religions were bad (This was before Vatican II, John the XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II), my family let me know that this was wrong and that there was good in all people and religions. 
 This is how my parents raised me. These were values that they instilled in my heart and soul. As I grew old, and became a free thinking adult, these values were affirmed time and time again. I have always tried to help others, whenever I can. There have been many times when people that I have tried to help, used me or did things to hurt me. I cannot account for the actions of others. I can only account for myself; so this has been my philosophy and the way that I live my life. 
  I believe that we are all responsible to the greater good. I believe that if we do something to hurt or injure another person, we are affecting the whole. I believe that what we do, and the way that we conduct our lives will, in the long run, determine how our lives will be lived. I think that we are on a journey, and how we conduct this journey, will be how we end our days. I think that time actually speeds up for us as individuals as we age. Each second passing faster and faster. Our time is limited, our days numbered, so I try to be the best person that I can be, according to what I believe. I can only ask that my friends judge me by my actions. This is me at 67, this was me at 50. 
 Peace and Love to All.
 John October 14, 2013