Life is very much like a roller coaster with its steep, slow climbs, and then the sudden rush of a downhill race. On a yearly comparison, December is that time when we have nearly reached the summit. For those who celebrate the usual Christmas holiday, there is a strong push leading up to the day. Once the gifts have been opened, it is like the air at last being released from a giant balloon, at least for the parents of small children. When the first January morning arrives they begin again, the slow ascent into a new year.
We create these events in our lives, giving them far more meaning than we need to. We get frenzied and frazzled, feeling that there is never enough time. But time too, is a human construct. I envy the birds and other wildlife that have no need to live for future events. They live completely immersed in the present. They will begin their journey, if they are a migrating species, when Nature urges them to do so. Their mating season too, is timed by Nature. Theirs is more of a gently rolling, continuous movement – not the steep ups and downs of our human lives.
Now that I have reached the final chapter of my life, I choose to live in a manner that is more like that of wildlife. I prefer not to hurry. I have become the slowly trickling stream and left behind the gushing white waves and waterfalls of my previous years. I have stepped off the roller coaster.
I will take the next two weeks to celebrate Winter’s Solstice and to give myself a well deserved rest from a year that has overflowed with challenges – not only for myself, but for nearly everyone. I will give my muse a break as well and resume this blog at the beginning of what will hopefully be a more peaceful year. I will return on the 3rd of January 2022. Until then, blessings to all of you!
