2020 has a special ring to it. Maybe it is its alliterative quality or the birth of a new decade? For whatever reason, it seems special. As I reflect on the past ten years and optimistically look forward to the next ten years, I have become aware of some interesting realities n the autumn of my life.
For much of my life, I thought of aging and maturing as gaining knowledge, experience and wisdom, the end, of which, would assure a comfortable, blissful and uncomplicated autumn season of life. The trajectory of autumn is a process of reduction, a funnel drawing everything to conclusion. I was, of course, naive. Life is unpredictable, even more so in later years, when health, finances, relationships, are often tenuous.
Coming to autumn, I discovered it to be more akin to entering the wardrobe In The Lion, The witch and the Wardrobe, than a cozy cocoon. I have found myself entering a strange and wondrous place of mystery, questions, doubts, adventure and endless possibilities. Each day, is iIke a sunset at the end of a cloudy day, when the sun breaks through revealing an unexpected and startling beauty. Despite its brevity, sunset transforms the unpredictable and makes impending darkness inconsequential.
Living in the sunset is a challenge. The desire to grasp and absorb infinite nuances of color and contrast before darkness invades can be overwhelming. Only the assurance of a new day and another sunset, restrains despair. Exhilaration and frustration are constant companions. I hold no regrets for my life, but I can say with confidence, I have never felt more alive than now.
My blog posts are meager attempts to share sunset experiences. Certainly they will be inadequate. As we all know, the grandeur of sunset is beyond description.
Looking forward to 2020, here are a few subjects/ideas I’m pondering for blog posts. Of course, I expect there will be unexpected sunset experiences to share.
- Christian Values
- What ever happened to Cost benefit analysis?
- Things an old man thinks about
- Paradox/Mystery
- The green Grass illusion
- Walking a Labyrinth
- Prescient experiences
- Echo chamber redux
Below are some of my favorite 2019 blog posts.
“I’ve never felt more alive than right now!” A great benediction!