Showing posts with label wonder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wonder. Show all posts
8/25/12
2/25/12
The Wonder and Advantage
Of being that man of a certain age...
Wherein I openly reflect out loud not caring what others may think.
Here I am at that point in life where it is too obvious to ignore that I've become "a man of a certain age." Fortunately it doesn't concern me much since it only jars me into recognition for rare brief periods such as the past few weeks where for the first time in five years I've had some minor physical problems. Although the anatomical disruption is still not completely resolved for the most part it has already passed. Although not definitively diagnosed it's fairly certain that it is the variety that comes with approaching the sixth decade of living and nothing serious or long term. My sense is that due to taking generally pretty good care of myself my entire life things will occur that can be coped with. It's a simple welcome to advancing in life when body parts occasionally annoyingly twist mildly while wonderfully most mental stress and worries uncurl into a lack of concern over them.
Somehow I seem to have escaped a lot of the psychological and mental matters that plague a lot of boomers hitting this mark in life. Frankly I think a lot of those are a result of decisions people consciously and fully made among our panoply of choices and some of them have brought consequences. My hope is younger people observe this and avoid the pitfalls and choose the better options among those of us still around. One great advantage of arriving at this point relatively intact is not really caring too much what others think. A lot of things I once worried about in the social realm no longer cross my mind and I have a definite comfort with myself that didn't arrive until over a decade or so ago. There is also the wonder of wisdom and the sense of being at certain places before and knowing how to deal with them.
This photograph of a wizened tree stump among broken rocks and boulders of ages surrounded by wild flowers reminds me of how grand aging can be. It is not hollow but still full of space to be filled with all sorts of knowledge, emotion and enlightenment. It symbolizes being surrounded by both the known friends who are solid as rocks, as well as the beauty of new blooms of young people and ideas among dead thistles that will revive in season to keep the years full as they go by.
Wherein I openly reflect out loud not caring what others may think.
Here I am at that point in life where it is too obvious to ignore that I've become "a man of a certain age." Fortunately it doesn't concern me much since it only jars me into recognition for rare brief periods such as the past few weeks where for the first time in five years I've had some minor physical problems. Although the anatomical disruption is still not completely resolved for the most part it has already passed. Although not definitively diagnosed it's fairly certain that it is the variety that comes with approaching the sixth decade of living and nothing serious or long term. My sense is that due to taking generally pretty good care of myself my entire life things will occur that can be coped with. It's a simple welcome to advancing in life when body parts occasionally annoyingly twist mildly while wonderfully most mental stress and worries uncurl into a lack of concern over them.
Somehow I seem to have escaped a lot of the psychological and mental matters that plague a lot of boomers hitting this mark in life. Frankly I think a lot of those are a result of decisions people consciously and fully made among our panoply of choices and some of them have brought consequences. My hope is younger people observe this and avoid the pitfalls and choose the better options among those of us still around. One great advantage of arriving at this point relatively intact is not really caring too much what others think. A lot of things I once worried about in the social realm no longer cross my mind and I have a definite comfort with myself that didn't arrive until over a decade or so ago. There is also the wonder of wisdom and the sense of being at certain places before and knowing how to deal with them.
This photograph of a wizened tree stump among broken rocks and boulders of ages surrounded by wild flowers reminds me of how grand aging can be. It is not hollow but still full of space to be filled with all sorts of knowledge, emotion and enlightenment. It symbolizes being surrounded by both the known friends who are solid as rocks, as well as the beauty of new blooms of young people and ideas among dead thistles that will revive in season to keep the years full as they go by.
10/20/11
Silver Dollar Moon
Hanging over ashen landscape...
Road trips are a great departure from everyday life, especially since I am able to travel the US desert southwest frequently for short three to five day trips. There is a lot that is unique and unusual that people all over the world visualize and want to visit that I am fortunate to see. At the end of a driving day, with prior stops to interesting places, the road to the stopover for the night can occasionally seem long. In between destinations the road and wide open spaces may be monotonous and run by as a blur.
If you are looking though a gem will appear, such as this full moon at dusk, a treasure find at day's end. It takes imagination to find gifts in the desert and many natural occurrences are traces of the elemental table of an oasis. Very often it is simple and at first glance the seemingly mundane things on the spur of the moment stand out. Every day life can be like that and the challenge is to find that overlooked wellspring worthy of attention to turn an ordinary day into one with a pleasant diversion.
Road trips are a great departure from everyday life, especially since I am able to travel the US desert southwest frequently for short three to five day trips. There is a lot that is unique and unusual that people all over the world visualize and want to visit that I am fortunate to see. At the end of a driving day, with prior stops to interesting places, the road to the stopover for the night can occasionally seem long. In between destinations the road and wide open spaces may be monotonous and run by as a blur.
If you are looking though a gem will appear, such as this full moon at dusk, a treasure find at day's end. It takes imagination to find gifts in the desert and many natural occurrences are traces of the elemental table of an oasis. Very often it is simple and at first glance the seemingly mundane things on the spur of the moment stand out. Every day life can be like that and the challenge is to find that overlooked wellspring worthy of attention to turn an ordinary day into one with a pleasant diversion.
8/15/11
Both Sides Now
I've looked at clouds...
When I was a kid in the summer I would read laying on the ground. If something struck me in what I was reading that I wondered about I would gaze up at the sky and clouds. I never looked at clouds and tried to figure out what they looked like in real life, such as a bunny rabbit or something. I thought that was silly. They fascinated me because of their ever changing shapes and colors and movement. They allowed me to gaze into them and think about whatever had made me stop reading with a fluidity and motion in my mind that matched the movement of clouds.
I still look at clouds, although not laying on my back reading a book as I did when I was young. More often I notice them when I'm on the road, another form of motion, whether that is in the city or travelling through the landscape of Arizona or New Mexico. In the city and out in the urban areas I stop and look and take photos because I'm still fascinated by them. Whether they are cirrus or stratus or cumulus I long ago forgot from my college days. I only know the difference between what kind of weather they will bring by pure experience and instinct.
What is great about life at a mature age is as a friend wrote "isn't it wonderful to be at peace with yourselves and your lives?" We were having an email exchange about how the tumultuous events of the world do not disrupt us as much as they once did. We know we have little control over what happens in the big picture, although they may change our lives, we can't change them. We only control how we react and adjust to events in our country and the world. We are past the age of worry, in solid long term relationships, satisfied with where we are as people. Our lives are in the second half now and we still think and marvel with liquidity about all kinds of things. The difference is we are in a sense reverting back to our youth and still wonder about things with a fluidity and motion of the mind now tempered by the wisdom of having lived longer.
When I was a kid in the summer I would read laying on the ground. If something struck me in what I was reading that I wondered about I would gaze up at the sky and clouds. I never looked at clouds and tried to figure out what they looked like in real life, such as a bunny rabbit or something. I thought that was silly. They fascinated me because of their ever changing shapes and colors and movement. They allowed me to gaze into them and think about whatever had made me stop reading with a fluidity and motion in my mind that matched the movement of clouds.
I still look at clouds, although not laying on my back reading a book as I did when I was young. More often I notice them when I'm on the road, another form of motion, whether that is in the city or travelling through the landscape of Arizona or New Mexico. In the city and out in the urban areas I stop and look and take photos because I'm still fascinated by them. Whether they are cirrus or stratus or cumulus I long ago forgot from my college days. I only know the difference between what kind of weather they will bring by pure experience and instinct.
What is great about life at a mature age is as a friend wrote "isn't it wonderful to be at peace with yourselves and your lives?" We were having an email exchange about how the tumultuous events of the world do not disrupt us as much as they once did. We know we have little control over what happens in the big picture, although they may change our lives, we can't change them. We only control how we react and adjust to events in our country and the world. We are past the age of worry, in solid long term relationships, satisfied with where we are as people. Our lives are in the second half now and we still think and marvel with liquidity about all kinds of things. The difference is we are in a sense reverting back to our youth and still wonder about things with a fluidity and motion of the mind now tempered by the wisdom of having lived longer.
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