"Getting older, I realize I've had a very fortunate life. I've had a budget that's allowed me to do just about any silly little thing the mind could conjure up, and I'm still alive and here"

Rick Danko’s words evoke a profound sense of gratitude and perspective found with age. As time passes, the experiences and opportunities life presents often gain sharper focus, especially for someone who, like Danko, reflects on both the pleasures and privileges of his journey. He openly recognizes the fortune he's had, acknowledging that a rewarding life isn’t just about the grandest achievements, but also the freedom and means to pursue even the smallest whims or impulsive desires that occur in the course of living.

Danko subtly contrasts youthful ambition or the impatient push towards what’s next with a more seasoned appreciation for the journey in its entirety, including playful experiments and indulgent, perhaps even frivolous, moments. Having “a budget” here takes on meaning beyond mere financial capability. It’s a metaphor for the resources, support, and sometimes even luck that enable someone to seize opportunities most can only imagine. Yet, there’s humility implicit in his words, a recognition that this freedom is not universally available and thus should not be taken for granted.

Surviving the years, being “still alive and here”, adds an undertone of awe and quiet wonder. Life in the creative arts, and perhaps in his era specifically, involved risks and uncertainties that not everyone survived. Danko’s survival is both literal and existential, referencing not just ongoing existence, but the opportunity to look back and recognize the unique path he traversed. His reflection highlights that fulfillment often emerges not solely from extraordinary fame or success, but from the ability to savor the full spectrum of lived experience, from the serious to the delightfully trivial.

Conclusively, Danko’s perspective embodies a blend of gratitude and reverence for life’s possibilities, both seized and survived, while softly reminding us to cherish, appreciate, and marvel at simply being present and alive after years of living with such abundance of opportunity.