When we place one foot in front of the other we expect the ground beneath to be firm and yet forgiving. We find the shade of a tree will provide shelter from the searing midday sun, the cooling of a breeze to ease the pain in our head, the strength of a crooked stick to support our aging bones.
Without some expectation we seemingly have no future, no rest from the angst of doubt, no reality to face tomorrow. We base the outcomes of the future on what we have experienced in the past. Like the cliches they are, we expect the sun to rise, the rain to stop and the apple tree to bare fruit.
Yet there is one expectation we often deny ourselves; that of death. Without it there is no life but with it we see an end, an expectation we would prefer to live without. That itself is a dilemma and contradiction we find unexpectedly at the end for all of us.
So what do we do? We learn to live with it. As the man walks forward, shaded by the trees and cooled by the breeze, he lives as he expects; with life before and end. It is the life we live, not the death. Keep walking with expectation and caution.
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Nice Tom, I like it! The B&W really adds to it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely wonderful Tom! Love it, my friend! Great great writing here, you made me stop dead in my tracks to really absorb your message.
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