Everyday I witness the two extremes of life. I see a 14 month old discover the world in all it's glory, from the heights of the couch cushions to the depths that lie beneath the kitchen counters. Everything is new and fascinating while nothing is ordinary or common. He is just starting life's race.
Right down the street from our house is an old folks retirement center called La Fetra. I often see them out walking around the front of their home or being driven in groups to the market. Rarely do I see them with anyone resembling a family member. I see them through the windows, playing cards or walking the grounds at a snails pace just to get a taste of the air that doesn't come from an oxygen tank. Ironically their home is located right next to a large park with baseball fields, a skateboard/BMX course, and playground all filled with teens and young children. They sit at the finish line and constantly have to endure the sight of healthy, young bodies filled with potential and yearning to begin the journey that once laid before them.
I wonder what it's like for them and all their years of experience to be at this stage of life. Sedentary and weak about to cross into the hereafter, the great unknown, dreamland, nirvana, bliss, or to blink for an exceptionally long period of time as Patch Adams would say. Maybe they are content...It's possible I have no idea of the peace that comes with that age. But having seen wars, pain, suffering, wealth, poverty, joy, ecstasy, and love all come and go this life has to be an incredibly weathering experience. Looking into the eyes of the elderly has told me at least this much.
I'm at a point in life where any path but the one straight ahead of me seems appealing. Let's be honest, if someone asked us if could go through life skipping all the moments when we lost a loved one or we got really sick or the bank foreclosed on the house and instead go straight to all the times when we felt like we were on top of the world, feeling high on life and drunk with love we would say "yes!" It's an easy decision for most. But I can't help notice how when we all look back on our past to all the horribly trying times we faced our common response is "I wouldn't have done anything different."
I know this is a common theme in a lot of my posts but I think it takes a lot for me to get over the way God designed this life to work. I feel like much of life resembles going to the doctor to get a series of vaccinations. Even if you don't mind needles, shots still suck. The logic behind injecting yourself with the very disease you hope not to get is remarkable. I wonder what the reaction was to the first person who suggest this technique...couldn't have gone over well. But anyway, such is life. We get hit with a strong dose of whatever it is we are trying to avoid and it is just enough not to kill us. Instead, we get stronger. We become immune to the problem. I can see this light at the end of the tunnel we call life but I'm not looking forward to all the shots I'm about to get. I know they will save my life but they will hurt like hell. I know that right now is probably about the time that God is going to raise my pain tolerance a few notches.
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