Life is both the journey, AND the destination. Anyone who tries to sell you one or the other is a charlatan. At our ends, we all die. What is left? Only, the memories cherished by those we have loved. For any person of courage that is enough.
This sums up my reason d'etre. As we wrangle along the paths that life allows us to trod, we ought truly savor the gusto that life provides. Smell the wonderful smells... taste the bountiful tastes... See the glorious sights... embrace the tactile touches that thrill and enhance... and hear the sounds that celebrate being. The lesson that Shane has...
I was watching a Koi in a local pond recently. My mind imagined its life. From stream, to pond, to death. How different are we? We swim in and out of each occurrence, but in the end, we simply swim. Nothing profound... Nothing nuanced... just moving about interacting with the environments that we are given, and then dying. Do the other Koi care? Did the Koi change anything for the better? Is it just futility? My conclusion... Futility. But what a wonderful road to travel. No one else gets to trod in my shoes. That is my uniqueness. My specialty. No one thing gets to be "me." Experience what I have.
I don't get to be the Koi I watched. It is unique and only knows its own path. Our differences... I wonder, did it question my uniqueness as it gazed at me through the medium of the water? Did it see me passing through its life? Did I effect it (at least as much as it effected me?)?
Happily and peacefully swimming around my pond...
HH =)
4 comments:
HH...
I wasn't sure which part of your post was Shane's lesson vs your reflection on it. I need to revisit his blog and look for the lesson of the Koi's. Regardless, I loved this idea of the Koi. I think so often in our little futile lives we take ourselves way too seriously! I'm guilty of this to be sure. I also think there is a strong tendency as humans to assume a superiority over other life forms (which is ironic given how much better other life forms do with this business of living). But it's refreshing to have the reminder that the beauty of life is simply "life" itself, (sorry to bring a bit of cliche into the discussion). It's easy to get caught up in things that really don't matter or won't make any difference to anyone now or ever. You know HH, posts like this convince me that you are a closeted Buddhist. (but not the kind of Buddhist that gets hung up on the dogmatic aspects of it all, so I wouldn't order your orange robe yet. ) A lovely post HH. A nice thought to stick in my brain today. The last couple days I've worn my serious face, checking off my to do's. Starting up work again, getting my kids ready for school, grasping desperately to the last thread of summer. But what a freeing thought, that while it's okay and maybe even necessary at times for me to have a "to do"list, it's much easier to work through it when I also consider the inevitable futility of it all!
Happy swimming!
SD (or whatever I am now. I can't keep track of my own pseudonyms)
Nice little post here, HH. Just the thing I needed to read after dealing with car trouble and work stresses since my return. Thanks for extending my vacation for just a bit longer!!!
Can't wait to see you, amigo!
ps: like the new look!
helloooooo? anybody there...?
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