I Write
A million sunrises and more. Thousands of generations walked the hills and the valleys before me. I am of the sea. I am of the dust. I am of the stars. The thousands of previous generations have disappeared like footprints in ever falling snow.
Of ancient rivers. Of ancient brooks bubbling across ancient stones. The hum of their lives now silent...is faintly understood by my young mind. How many hawks have risen on ancient sky before my first gulp of air?
It is not now nor shall ever be lost upon me, the magnitude of what was before me. Nor shall my mind ever lose sight of the magnitude of the life that will roll across time .....long after my last breath in this mortal world.
To many I suppose, such pondering and awareness would spawn a melancholy feeling of smallness. Of insignificance. I choose to embrace this mere mist of time ....that marks my life. I marvel at my great fortune to have been born in my country of democracy and freedom. This gift has afforded me the security and safety to pursue such introspection and observation.
I often am overcome with a great sadness. A sadness framed by the great divisiveness of man against man. Of worldly things that soon won't matter. I choose the pursuit of love, not bitterness. Once a warrior, I shall never loose that aggressiveness that is but one minor component of who I am. I choose to harness my warrior spirit to seek a path that leads me to love, not hatred. Forgiveness and introspection were once very elusive to me.
I think perhaps one day, in another place, far from here, we will be introduced to the energy and hum of the universe that surrounds us all. Maybe in that moment we each will learn of the pettiness and insignificance of so many things we all at times lift high with importance. And perhaps in the moment is when we will realize that we are all brothers and sisters. That color of skin, political leanings, and appearance are simply distractions leading us from truth and enlightenment in this realm.
So I lastly choose to be a child of the light. To seek out and realize that each day there are many beautiful moments that are gifts. That each breath I draw is a miracle, and that ultimately, how well a life lived is only measured by the amount of love we leave in our wake.
Patrick
Of ancient rivers. Of ancient brooks bubbling across ancient stones. The hum of their lives now silent...is faintly understood by my young mind. How many hawks have risen on ancient sky before my first gulp of air?
It is not now nor shall ever be lost upon me, the magnitude of what was before me. Nor shall my mind ever lose sight of the magnitude of the life that will roll across time .....long after my last breath in this mortal world.
To many I suppose, such pondering and awareness would spawn a melancholy feeling of smallness. Of insignificance. I choose to embrace this mere mist of time ....that marks my life. I marvel at my great fortune to have been born in my country of democracy and freedom. This gift has afforded me the security and safety to pursue such introspection and observation.
I often am overcome with a great sadness. A sadness framed by the great divisiveness of man against man. Of worldly things that soon won't matter. I choose the pursuit of love, not bitterness. Once a warrior, I shall never loose that aggressiveness that is but one minor component of who I am. I choose to harness my warrior spirit to seek a path that leads me to love, not hatred. Forgiveness and introspection were once very elusive to me.
I think perhaps one day, in another place, far from here, we will be introduced to the energy and hum of the universe that surrounds us all. Maybe in that moment we each will learn of the pettiness and insignificance of so many things we all at times lift high with importance. And perhaps in the moment is when we will realize that we are all brothers and sisters. That color of skin, political leanings, and appearance are simply distractions leading us from truth and enlightenment in this realm.
So I lastly choose to be a child of the light. To seek out and realize that each day there are many beautiful moments that are gifts. That each breath I draw is a miracle, and that ultimately, how well a life lived is only measured by the amount of love we leave in our wake.
Patrick
51-55, M
