i used to be like this. with the advent of getting cfids (a neuro-immune disease), i was forced to slow down. i was mostly bed-ridden for two years. i probably won't ever be well enough to have a job/career again, unless they find a cure. all that work for naught. it was a long road, coming to acceptance of this. nothing is easy. every thing is hard-earned, and acceptance is one of those hard-earned badges of the soul, that no one really understands, or gets the worth of.
one of the things that has led to my acceptance of this unasked-for life-change has been the benefits of slowing down, of noticing, of being in the moment.
of seeing the sunset.
i don't mean just glancing at the gorgeous sky, and then getting back to the business at hand.
i mean, sitting there, because you don't have the energy to move, and Really Looking at the sky.
absorbing the colors into your soul.
noticing the shades of the waves, of the trees, of the grasses.
following the shifting clouds with your eyes.
to listen to the quieting of nature, as birds slow down, fish jump for dinner and then rest, and the peepers come out to serenade us into dusk.
forced to just BE, i am grateful for it. my eyes are apt to see the beauty in the smallest things, and i have the time and lack of energy and forward motion to actually see things as they are, and perhaps as meant to be seen.
details often overlooked arise to my view with alacrity - the bird's nest in the tree, silhouetted by the sunset. the raft, throwing eddying ripples into the lake.
the ebb and flow of the waves at lake michigan - the tiny bubbles, each indicative of a great maelstrom within.
yes, life is chaos. isn't it nice to be able to see the sunset?
Copyright 2006, Jessica Voigts
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Comments: 24
Terrific pics. Golden.
it is, perhaps, one of the great paradoxes of our time (in this country at least) that we are consumed with creating an environment for speed, to the absolute detriment of our ability to slow down
I really lucked out when I found my apartment. It has its disadvantages, a lot of them, but out my front window, instead of the usual NYC view of an air shaft or at best side of a building, I have a panoramic view of the Hudson River, so I can watch the progress of the seasons, and above all the wonderful calm of the sun setting over water. Truly a blessing!
Don't give up...don't go into the light.
bruce - disabilities vary, just as people do. some disabilities still allow the person to work. my particular disabilities don't. please don't judge me on your perceptions of my health and what my body can and cannot do. if i Could, i Would. trust me on that. as well, the disability part of this is just an intro, asking people to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. i am not asking people to give up or go into the light - i won't!
oh patrick, you gave me homework! i'll have to go check. i think i might even have that play on the shelf...will see. thank you all for your kind comments - they mean a lot!