Hourglass

Either we rage against the dying of the light or accept that light will eventually die... time will be no more the hourglass will be emptied. The die is cast at birth. No pun intended.

Birth’s twin is death we all know. We screamed at the moment we were born most likely directed to both life and death – doomed to be mortal– memento mori. Our hourglass – the space and time between the two significant events in our life – is dominated incrementally by how we live, how we play the game of life. To borrow a phrase from a sports game USA Football– we play the downs. We pass or throw the ball to a receiver for a completion called a down and gain a chance to repeat the process to reach the goal line and score. A single down is played at a time and within a limited chances given can advance our field position closer to goal line, our aim. A down made is s big lift to reach the goal line. We do a series of this to cross the line and be victorious.

And we celebrate and in euphoria we spike the ball. We get our fine china out and share the cornucopia, nectar and ambrosia in our round table with friends and family.

So many things can happen with a pass or a throw. Many opportunities can get us to complete all the downs, accumulate scores to win. As well many obstacles from the other team can thwart the opportunities to make a down and cause us to lose. No goat’s horn overflowing flowers, fruits and corn. Our fine China remains in the cabinet.

As in life the ups and downs we experience will make us be more keen and resilient and be accepting of the missed opportunities. And do better the next time we have the ball or the opportunity to score.

And we move on. Do the daily grind. Success after success. Failure after failure.
We learn lessons. We let go we accept.

It’s a long road to maturity in life, that is,
and takes a long time to be young again. Be creative again. Be crazy again. Laugh. Smile. A long time to sustain a dream. A hope. Faith is all we have supported by our trust in humanity– the inherent goodness of mankind incubated in our mother’s womb by the Almighty sustained with loving care by  Mary, our universal mother, for us to be able to pass to throw to receive the ball in our lifetime within our hourglass.

Hopefully all the lessons we learned along the way from our loved ones, family, friends, street smarts and enemies would keep us settled down centered and accept the dignity of our birth’s destiny that the light in fact eventually dies out. Our hourglass finally will be emptied.

Yet, can rebirth be far behind? New beginnings?

As in nature’s seasonal changes a new beginning is always there– a promise of spring... exuberance of summer... closure of fall... reflection of winter. We dream... smile... we wake up... we get up... smile... we repeat.

The more we age the more we accept our limitations the more beautiful life gets. We see more colors in the rainbow no other person sees.

Certainly we can rage against the dying of the light. But hourglasses certainly can be turned over– we sail across the blue sky into the seventh heaven at peace with our Creator,  we reconcile with our loved ones in that Elysian Field.

And we rage with absolute passion– happy we are alive again! Joyful we are kids once more!

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©ndr 01.25. 2024
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