RESPONSIBLE DECONGESTING

 

ZYRTEC, Jamestown, NC

It’s been said that with age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone. And with autumn comes beautiful leaves sailing on the winds, but allergies come along for the ride.

I was seeking an assist from a strong antihistamine in Public’s Pharmacy area without finding it, so I asked for help. I was reminded that it is kept behind the counter (to discourage meth labs) and I needed to produce my Drivers License to be registered in a database and pay on the spot to acquire some relief.

I produced my cards, raised my right hand and swore to “decongest responsibly”! The pharmacists on duty were listening and they all chuckled as the cashier handed me my bagged contraband with great fanfare and the admonition to “please decongest responsibly”.

—Just another day in the life of a retired senior citizen.

AWARENESS

Paradox, Blue Ridge Parkway

“All through Autumn we hear a double voice: one says everything is ripe; the other says everything is dying. The paradox is exquisite. We feel what the Japanese call ‘aware’ — an almost untranslatable word meaning something like ‘beauty tinged with sadness’” —Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces

I liked the quote above and saved it for a possible blog post.  And then I happened upon a photo that was just taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway of the first snow of the season.  It visually captures both the beauty and sadness of the colorful, vibrant leaves below and the quickening demise of the trees above that are covered in frozen snow.

Much has been written about all the sensory feelings which we humans associate with the autumn season as summer days seamlessly morph into cooler nights and all nature begins the process of retreating from the hectic days of growth and reaching to the heavens.  And perhaps the most paradoxical example we all observe is the withdrawing of green chlorophyl from the surrounding forests and urban trees.  Once the true colors of their leaves that have adorned them since springtime appear, people gaze in wonder at the splendid colors that begin their swan song reveal.

Autumn beckons a bittersweet melancholy as we breath in the beauty of this colorful display, but for those who have witnessed this rodeo before, we know the sad ending of loss and decay.  Once the harsh north winds begin to sail through the countryside, the leaves are torn lose from their moorings and join in a joyful dance that has a much too short run before they begin their cycle of returning to the stardust of all creation.

We become all too aware of the sweetness of life in autumn and the shortness of time for all living organisms.  But we can take heart in observing that every living organism including ourselves gets a chance at being part of the cycle, understanding that it has both a beginning and ending before it repeats with new players.    

“An intense beauty is trembling on the edge of destruction” as golden Aspen leaves quake in the cold north wind, acquiescing to the inevitable.

THE PINOCCHIO PARADOX; “My nose grows longer now.”

 

BIRTHDAYS

BIRTHDAYS, Jamestown, NC

On the occasion of my October 15th birthday.🎉

“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”

—Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

The only two birthdays I’ve really acknowledged were my 16th for a driver’s license and my 47th which was my dad’s age when cancer took his life.  I considered that year the beginning of my gifted second life and I don’t count the pandemic years since I didn’t use them, so I’m really only 31!

The birthdays we acknowledge are really just an accounting of the number of times we beings on this planet have circled the sun!  I've observed folks that are old at 60 and others that are quite lucid and active at 90.  Critical life stages would seem to be better key indicators!  Examples might include born, walking upright, conversational, puberty, education, independent living, working full time, partnering, raising children, retired, physically/mentally impaired and assisted living.

Thanks to modern medicine and the miracle of mortal bodies that can heal themselves, God is revealed in our existence.  And we’re not left with imperfect scars, just character lines that validate a life fully lived. 😎

MORNING SHADOWS HAIKU

MORNING SHADOWS, Jamestown, NC

Morning sunlight casts,

Dark shadows through arched window,

As all the world mourns,

Yet another senseless war.

 

 

WHITE AUTUMN HORSES

 

WHITE AUTUMN HORSES

“And then the sun took a step back and the leaves lulled themselves to sleep, and autumn awakened." —Raquel

‘Tis the season of warm waters and overnight, still, cool air that spawns ethereal, white, spirit horses rising on the lake’s surface at sunrise.

WE HAVE TWO LIVES

 

ALONE IN A CROWD

It’s been said that we have two births in life:  the first is when we are born and the second is when we discover why.  Friedrich Nietzsche observed that “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”   Hopefully, we discover this as soon as possible because the great Chinese Philosopher Confucius wrote clear back in 550 BC that “We have two lives:  the second begins when we realize we only have one.” Joseph Campbell has written that “The problem in middle life, when the body has reached its climax of power and begins to decline, is to identify yourself, not with the body, which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle.”  I’ve always likened mortal death as a final stage rocket being jettisoned as the capsule soars off into space and our consciousness rejoins the ultimate sea of consciousness.  It’s always important to focus on the understanding that we’re not a body with a soul, but rather a soul with a body!   

Growing older needn’t be a phase of surrender or depression, but one of maintaining a positive attitude.  It’s a time of growing wiser.  A time to reflect on all of life’s accumulated lessons and learning to emulate all the positive people who have crossed your path that you admired and doing the opposite of the actions of people you didn’t respect.  You become more selective in all things and realize that it’s not only permissible but necessary to say no to some of the requests for your time.  It’s a time when life slows and you can stop living stories and start writing them.  We have to wear many hats when we’re immersed in life and competing with others for a chance at the golden ring.  It’s been said that your true character, however, is revealed when you’re alone.  Aging and time in solitude gives us a chance to live who we really are as a person.

When life slows and we realize we have probably lived more days than we have left to live, we begin to relish our time and savor the days more intensely.  We become selective of our contacts and migrate to those who have been strengthened in the crucible of life and know how to touch hearts.  We soldier on to be at peace with those around us and our own consciousness, understanding that forgiveness is available to all who ask and seek to live a better life.

 “We have two lives:  the second begins when we realize we only have one.”

OBSERVING

 

OBSERVING

The ideas behind Observer are based on real science, starting with the famous two-slit experiments, in which the presence of an observer affects the path taken by a sub-atomic particle, and moves step-by-step into cutting-edge science about quantum entanglement, on-going experiments applying quantum-level physics to the macro-world, the multiverse, and the nature of time and consciousness itself.

The book recounts astounding scientific discoveries that all lead inexorably to the bizarre but reality-shaking conclusion that the basic structure of the cosmos—things like space and time and the way matter holds together—requires observers.