Numbers and time

Photo by Kevin Collins

Today I find myself thinking about numbers and time:

• My 25th wedding anniversary.
• My 48th birthday.
• My husband's 57th birthday.
• My parents' 49th wedding anniversary.
• My daughter's 1st wedding anniversary.
• My 20-year-old daughter moving out.
• I have no more babies, no more kids, no more teenagers at home.
• My two daughters are now two grown women following their own dreams.
• Things that end (like the death of someone old and dear) and things that seem to have no end (like my nephew's illness).
• Things that last or that feel like it was only yesterday, like the love my husband feel for each other.

Photo by Ali Collins Ste-Croix

We move in this thread of time, going somewhere, waiting for something to happen, waiting for the perfect chance, the perfect moment.... At other times, we don't want to rush. We resent the rush of life around us. Other times we are too rushed to stop and think about the good things we have today.

Yesterday I read: "When the Buddah wrote that life was dukkha, he didn't mean endless pain or suffering. Rather, he proposed that life was analogous to disquietude--to interruptions--the way a potter's wheel might skip rather than turn smoothly."

We strive so hard for perfection, for things to run smoothly. The fact is we change as we go and the world around us goes its own merry way without asking our permission or own opinion. Everything that happens in our life modifies us in some way. Everyone we meet touches us in some way. We think we are going somewhere, and then something happens that changes everything, and we cannot go the same way, or walk the same road.

Today I celebrate what doesn't change: the love that thrives in our family. No matter how many years, no matter what time or what season, love keeps us going and love is our shield in times of trial. May we continue to remind one another through our actions that we love, unconditionally, unequivocally, unselfishly.

Photo by Paula Collins