Musings on the passage of time...

As I logged on to my blog for the first time in months and found that the environment I was familiar with had changed, it did occur to me that there is a metaphor here.  No surprise that my own landscape, both internal and external has gone through significant shifts in the past year too.

I observe that I have spent a great deal of my life waiting for it to start, you know, for real, the good stuff, the life that I have been anticipating etc.  And at the same time, I have been engaged in the practice over this past decade of being mindful and present in the moment, so that sense of being suspended waiting for something or someone to make the difference so I know I am living the right life is no longer so prevalent.

I maintain a marvelous sense of satisfaction in my life, for the most part.  I am living where I want to live, enjoy the shared, created space that living with family affords me.  I work at several occupations, each of which nourishes me in a different way.  I continue to attend post secondary education (for the first time in my life) and have discovered I am an excellent student and have been able to apply my education in real life since the very first class in this program.  I am delighted by time spent with my grandson and have begun to have whimsical and and interesting conversations with him.  On the other side of the spectrum, I have the privilege of participating in assisting my aging mother and often have whimsical and fascinating discussions with her.  I have discovered a depth of love and acceptance and wonder in my marriage of 33 years.  I will be planting a garden for the first time in decades and look forward to harvesting food and having fresh cut flowers for my home that I have grown. 

I read this article by Andrew Cohen yesterday and found myself moved to tears.  This passage "This is not to deny ... that we have enormous problems to solve and unexpected disasters to face. It’s just that if they’re right, we have good reason to feel a lot better about ourselves and our collective future."  I find that I feel guilty about being optimistic in the face of what seems like overwhelming bad news that we see at 6 o'clock each night.  Recent events in my life and in those around me have given me an opportunity to consider that my perspective of faith in humans and our capacity for love and compassion is not misplaced. 

All in all, life is good.  After checking in on what condition my condition is in, I am happy to report that this has been a most excellent year.  Taking more time to share how this is for me is in the works for this next year!  Thanks for reading.