Buzz Aldrin - No Dream Is Too High

“You don’t? Why not? I’m certainly a skeptic.”

“Yes, but you also believe in a higher power.”

She had a good point. I’d seen numerous men and women find real strength and hope to overcome the strongest addictions by looking to a higher power. On the other hand, I’ve been all over the world, I’ve met people who hold to all sorts of religions, and I have encountered many diverse cultures. I’ve met good people in all walks of life. That has given me a different perspective on my faith. Who am I to criticize or demean anyone else’s religious beliefs?

I don’t go around giving testimony to my faith, and when anyone asks me about the Communion on the Moon, I tell them that I wanted to do something that was symbolic and something that was appropriate for the magnitude of what we had accomplished. The best way to do that was to encourage everyone to give thanks in their own way.

I am not afraid of dying, but what concerns me is that I might run out of time before I get everything done that I want to do. And there is so much more that I want to do! There are so many things I want to accomplish and people I want to impact. I’m not done yet. I have more to contribute. As a matter of fact, keep your eye on me; you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!

SOMETIMES, THOUGH, THE LITTLE irritants in life create discomfort and distress. That’s why you need to learn to deal with them quickly, rather than allowing them to continue to bug you.

Several astronauts, including Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford, and I were invited to attend the 2012 Olympics held in London. Everyone was excited because the phenomenal U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps would be attempting to win unprecedented 16th, 17th, and 18th gold medals.

We were in a hurry, so I had to get dressed quickly, and as we piled into the van that would take us to the swimming pool arena, I noticed a pain in my foot. “Gosh, my foot is killing me,” I said to Christina.

“Are you sure you want to go?” she asked. “We can stay at the hotel.”

“No, no,” I downplayed the pain. “I’m all right.”

When we arrived at the Olympic area, our van driver dropped us off as close as possible, but we still had to walk quite a distance to get to the VIP lounge that Olympic officials had so generously provided for us. As we walked, I felt the discomfort in my foot getting worse, and said so to Christina.

“Well, stop for a second and check. Is there something in your shoe?” Christina asked.

“No, no, let’s keep going.”

When we arrived in the reception room, I temporarily forgot about the pain in my foot as Gene Cernan and I got caught up in a conversation about our “fighter pilots’ vision.” Over the years, my eye doctors had occasionally recommended I wear glasses to improve my vision. Instead, I had undergone four surgeries and other medical procedures to help my eyes overcorrect and counteract the normal effects of aging. As Gene and I were talking about it, Christina interjected, “I just don’t understand why you don’t simply wear glasses.”

Gene jumped in, “Oh, no, no! You don’t understand. We’re fighter pilots. We’ve had perfect vision for most of our lives. We don’t want to wear glasses now. I’m with Buzz on this one.”

I smiled. Gene and I had known each other since working on the Gemini and Apollo space programs, and I think this was the first time he and I had ever agreed on anything! Christina knew it was futile to further discuss any corrective lenses for either of us.

Soon it was time for us to leave the VIP lounge and head for our seats at the swimming competition. We watched several preliminary heats, and Michael Phelps won two more gold medals, and I still had the pain in my foot! Finally, after nearly four hours since I first noticed the discomfort, Christina convinced me to take off my shoe.

I gingerly removed the shoe from my foot and said, “Hey! I think there really is something inside my shoe.” I reached my hand into the shoe, and to my amazement, I discovered a pair of socks stuffed deep in the toe of my shoe! Apparently, in packing for our trip, I had put the socks inside my shoes and had forgotten to take them out. How could I have missed something so obvious?

Christina burst out laughing when she saw the socks. “Why didn’t you take off your shoe four hours ago?” she asked through her giggles. We both laughed all the way through the next swim event, with Gene giving us dirty looks the entire time.

Don’t let the little irritations of life keep you from enjoying the moment. I walked around in pain for more than four hours because I refused to address the real problem. Some people walk around for four years, or four decades, with an irritant rankling in their hearts or minds, and it makes them miserable. Take quick steps to alleviate any bitterness or resentment or other irritations. They don’t get better with time; they simply make your life more miserable. As we age, anyone can become cynical. But you don’t have to. Watch out for those little foxes that can destroy the entire field. Life is too short to let the little things get to you.

Okay, so you are getting older. So what? It beats the alternatives! Have patience with yourself and a generosity of spirit with others, and always keep your zest for life.

Certainly, we all have a responsibility to give back, to appreciate the sacrifices our forefathers have made, and to be diligent in helping others enjoy those same freedoms and opportunities. Even more important than giving back to society, however, is a determination to “pay it forward,” to help others go beyond where you have gone. This is one of the key motivations of life at my age.

Why am I alive? What am I supposed to do before I die? These are questions everyone should ask, not just octogenarians such as me. At any age, you will be more excited and more effective when you are motivated and activated by the desire to fulfill the purpose you believe you were born to do.

Whatever path your life takes, find time and a way to give something back; give time, talent, or treasure to help your community, or to help someone else achieve his or her goal. Look beyond the mirror where you see only yourself, and see a world with millions of people whose lives you might impact positively, or more important, find one person in whose life you can help make a positive difference. Reaching out and helping another person will bring you more satisfaction than anything you have ever done.

Learn to ask, “How can I help you? What can I offer you?”

That’s what ignites my rockets to this day. Every day I wake up and begin working on some way to help motivate the next generation to develop a challenging but realistic goal of exploring space. So I kicked up some dust on the Moon. Big deal. That was great, but I don’t want that to be my only legacy. I don’t want to be remembered as an iconic voice from the past; I want to be remembered for making a huge impact on the future! I won’t be around to see it, but I want to lay the groundwork for the next generation of explorers.

Nowadays, I consider myself a global statesman for space and have been doing my part to try and move our space program forward.

One of my goals yet to be achieved is to see all 24 of the astronauts—living or deceased—who reached the Moon, including the 12 who landed on the surface, designated as Lunar Ambassadors. In the meantime, I continue my efforts as a global space statesman.