Dec 12, 2018

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

― Søren Kierkegaard

Today I wandered past an old church and glanced up at the window and became mesmerized by the reflections of clouds and sky. I must have watched it for a while because when it first caught my eye the sky was dismal and overcast and then my mind cleared the sky was blue and the clouds drifting by were white and full.

I have heard it said that life comes down to a few great moments but how are we to question and evaluate the moments of our lives and know which of all the moments that have passed by with stealth and brought us times of love, sorrow, joy or despair is a great moment?

I think our lives, when reflected upon, will show us that all the moments, no matter how seemingly insignificant, are connected together and, like the seasons and the tides, our lives ebb and flow and change and sometimes burn bright and sometimes the colors are subdued, perhaps so we might hear the sounds that surround us and those sounds resonate with varying tempos. Sometimes we barely catch the beat and sometimes the sounds seems to shout at us and enter our brains and souls and set up housekeeping like they have found a home at last or even as if they had their birth there.

When I reflect on my life I cannot define any moment as great because it is the continuity and the connections of all the moments that pulsate and blend and make up my past that give me the strength and the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other and walk into my future.

The moments that felt like the shade of a magnolia tree on a hot summer day and the moments that made my skin crawl and itch like a hot prairie wind are all part of the Plan.

Every reflection seems to showcase a different moment and give me new perspective and insight into who I am and what purpose my life has served and what possibilities lie ahead. The reflections drift by like the clouds in that church window showing me that change is not only inevitable it is not to be feared because the change is just part of the natural world I live in.

“An unexamined life is not worth living”

Plato