A daisy from Luba's garden.To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
A friend from my former life in the public humanities asked me about retirement. How is it? "The universe expands," I replied.
“What does that mean?” Ceri, a dear Facebook fan asked. To me it means that the world gets larger, deeper, more enchanting, I responded. I’m not sure if it expands literally, physically, to the ends of time, something scientists debate. For me it has more of a spiritual meaning. It means we have just begun to learn, that horizons broaden, perspectives change, and unexplored energies beckon and await us. It means, as Mary Oliver put it, we can let go of “the sharps and flats” of past regrets, and lie still in nature, on the blades of green grass that will let us be.
Aging is universal, like babies and families. No matter who we are, where we are, how we have lived, everyone ages.
But the way we age is not universal. It’s not like watching babies grow from one developmental stage to another, into childhood, adulthood and family life. It’s more like watching a movie with lots of different ways to get to the same ending.
At this mighty stage in the lifecycle a lot depends on circumstances and luck, and genes and luck, and the basics--enough money to live on, good health, a lively mind and vigorous body, a family or good support system. Most of all, it depends on our attitude towards life, change and newness. It takes a certain toughness, as the body resists the mind’s desires, and a certain acceptance of things as they are and an openness to things as they happen. It also means letting go
It is a final chapter in our life story that we write ourselves, and leave for posterity. We are free to experiment, or not; free to define our own boundaries, or not.
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
A friend from my former life in the public humanities asked me about retirement. How is it? "The universe expands," I replied.
“What does that mean?” Ceri, a dear Facebook fan asked. To me it means that the world gets larger, deeper, more enchanting, I responded. I’m not sure if it expands literally, physically, to the ends of time, something scientists debate. For me it has more of a spiritual meaning. It means we have just begun to learn, that horizons broaden, perspectives change, and unexplored energies beckon and await us. It means, as Mary Oliver put it, we can let go of “the sharps and flats” of past regrets, and lie still in nature, on the blades of green grass that will let us be.
Aging is universal, like babies and families. No matter who we are, where we are, how we have lived, everyone ages.
But the way we age is not universal. It’s not like watching babies grow from one developmental stage to another, into childhood, adulthood and family life. It’s more like watching a movie with lots of different ways to get to the same ending.
At this mighty stage in the lifecycle a lot depends on circumstances and luck, and genes and luck, and the basics--enough money to live on, good health, a lively mind and vigorous body, a family or good support system. Most of all, it depends on our attitude towards life, change and newness. It takes a certain toughness, as the body resists the mind’s desires, and a certain acceptance of things as they are and an openness to things as they happen. It also means letting go
It is a final chapter in our life story that we write ourselves, and leave for posterity. We are free to experiment, or not; free to define our own boundaries, or not.
Maybe something exists beyond the known universe, maybe our souls live on, but I don’t think so. I have my doubts. But in this, Loren is my guide and, one way or another, I will follow him. For now I am following an inner voice that reaches to the edges of an expanding universe, to where I do not know.
Patience
by Mary Oliver
What is the good life now? Why
Look here, consider
The moon’s white crescent
rounding, slowly, over
the half month to still another
perfect circle—
the shining eye
that lightens the hills,
that lays down the shadows
of the branches of the trees
that summon the flowers
to open their sleepy faces and look up
into the heavens.
I used to hurry everywhere,
And leaped over the running creeks.
There wasn’t
Time enough for all the wonderful things
I could think of to do
In a single day. Patience
Comes to the bones
Before it takes root in the heart
As another good idea.
I say this
As I stand in the woods
And study the patterns
Of the moon shadows,
Or stroll down into the waters
That now, late summer, have also
Caught the fever, and hardly move
From one eternity to another.
Patience
by Mary Oliver
What is the good life now? Why
Look here, consider
The moon’s white crescent
rounding, slowly, over
the half month to still another
perfect circle—
the shining eye
that lightens the hills,
that lays down the shadows
of the branches of the trees
that summon the flowers
to open their sleepy faces and look up
into the heavens.
I used to hurry everywhere,
And leaped over the running creeks.
There wasn’t
Time enough for all the wonderful things
I could think of to do
In a single day. Patience
Comes to the bones
Before it takes root in the heart
As another good idea.
I say this
As I stand in the woods
And study the patterns
Of the moon shadows,
Or stroll down into the waters
That now, late summer, have also
Caught the fever, and hardly move
From one eternity to another.
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