The Dust Settles

I was given a gift last night, an idea that has helped me once again take a step backwards into the center of my energy (something I have frequently needed since turning sixty). The idea is simple: Life is long.

Life is long.

I had a drink with a friend whose sons (in their mid 20s) are going through mid-20s stuff. Instead of telling them what to do or trying to lecture, what he tells them is: Life is long. He tells them that they're going to go through so much in their long, long lives. He encourages them to look at the big picture. What a gift! Perspective. Wow.

I can hardly remember being in my 20s. One thing I can say for sure about that decade, which began in 1972, is that I was not happy. How I would have loved hearing someone say that life is long, oh my. Something to hang on to during the storms of early adulthood would have been great. At age sixty it's also great. My life has been long and full - and - I'm not dead yet! There are conceivably many adventures ahead. Life is long.

I've been thinking about it all day today which was, by the way, a beautiful spring day. Pollen and stuff that was part of the trees leafing out was fluttering down, the result of a sweet warm breeze. The fluttering was ongoing all day. It looked like snow, but it did not feel like snow. I took a short walk, didn't dare stay out too long as I'm now coming into my worst allergy time, when the oaks and grass pollinate. The meds I've been taking are spectacular, but there's no need to push it. After going into anaphylactic shock a few years ago, I'm wary. It's only a couple of weeks anyway. Onwards and upwards.

This week is a big improvement from last week on every level. I've heard a few peeps about how the Boston Marathon bombers aren't white - so weird - they're from Caucasus, possibly the whitest white in the world. But mostly I'm hearing stories about the way Boston is grieving and healing, West, Texas too.

Our species, for all our flaws - and there are many - is so resilient! We bounce back. All day I've been thinking that this is the secret to our success as a species, more than our gigantic brains combined with opposable thumbs. We are hopeful, we are confident. We carry on. And, too, life is long.

Shalom.

See the bumblebee inside the peony?