The Journey
A blink. The flicker of the eye that takes less than a second. A snap in time. A blip in the vast space of infinity. Involuntary swiftness. A definition of quickness.
In a blink, my blue eyed daughter grew into a woman.
In a blink, my tow headed baby boy grew into a man.
In a blink, my infant granddaughter is in college.
In a blink, I am over 60 and wondering how that happened.
In a blink, my mother is over 90.
In a blink, my dad is gone.
In a blink, life roars forward, carrying us along with it, helpless in the swiftness of the current. The persistence of the path. It is aggressive. It is bossy. It is never-ending. It proceeded before us and will continue long after us. It is a non-stop journey.
If there are lessons to be learned in life, from this journey, I feel that the inevitability of life’s path screams fiercely of a plan that is inescapable. That our fateful passage has been set and we are guided along yielding to the course that we are destined to be on. We are living the life we are supposed to live.
Yes, we’ve made choices. Many have been wrong. Many right. Yes, we’ve hurt and been hurt. Yes, we’ve had struggles. And pain. And days of suffering. Days of questioning.
But, in our choices, we’ve learned.
In our hurt, we’ve felt compassion and remorse.
In our struggles, we’ve felt relief, joy, and pride.
In our pain, we’ve gained strength and resilience.
In our suffering, we’ve become humble and compassionate.
In our questions, we’ve found patience and fortitude.
But the fact remains that we are here and life kept moving on, in spite of our discouragement and the worries in our life. In spite of our anger. Our losses. Or our cries.
Calm waters were waiting.
Surrendering to the journey is acceptance. Belief that in the unveiling of this passage, one realizes that our decisions and choices in our life are all for a purpose. That it is all part of the plan to make us who we are supposed to be. To let us live the life we are supposed to live. And live it with joy.
I am so grateful to be at this place in my life where I can live fully with the knowledge that all the events of my life have led to where I am now. And body, mind, and spirit are in agreement that it’s a good place to be. I have nothing left to prove.
All that I have is all that I need. And the truth of that is freedom.
Freedom to live fully.
Freedom to love, without boundaries or explanation.
Freedom to explore all that life offers.
Freedom to speak without fear.
Freedom to be all that I can be.
I look at my life. My husband. My children. My grandchildren. My family and those that I love. And I know that I am blessed. I am completely head-over-heels in love with the gift of them in my life. Their goodness overwhelms me. Their faces ground me. Their lives complete me. My heart is so full of love for each of them and my sensitive soul already mourns the quickness of time. Who knew that this journey would move so fast….
The importance of this message is critical.
Believe in the path that you are on. Believe that, no matter how rough it is, it will turn out ok. Feel the freedom in this revelation and know that calm waters are near. My dad, who was a very wise man, always told us. “Everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to.” Believe in that wisdom and live it.
Live fully. Live freely. Embrace all that life can give. Embrace your children and theirs. Embrace the privilege of aging. Embrace love in all its forms. Love entirely and completely, without doubt, without delay, without regret. Live a life that’s worthy of the gift you’ve been given.
This fleeting, sweet, beautiful gift of life.
Super Woman Deluxe
9 Comments
Pam Cavalier
Hi Kay – Life is a gift–the ultimate one. Being thankful every day is not easy, as you well know, but being reminded of this great gift is truly helpful and appreciated.
Thank you for sharing.
Kay Arthur
Thank you Pam for your comment and visiting my blog. Life is truly a gift we must appreciate every day.
Jan
❤️ This article. Well said, Kay
Kay Arthur
Thanks Jan 🙂
Katie Larson
❤️❤️
starchild's mom
I love the sentiment – and optimism – in what you wrote. And it’s comforting to believe everything turns out just as it’s supposed to. However, I’ve also watched very precious women use up almost their whole lives steadfastly on personal collision courses with themselves. Not having your father’s wisdom in their hearts, instead they learned their purpose was as an object undeserving of anything good. If a friend or loved one tried to show them something else, they immediately set out to sabotage that relationship. In stead of growing/learning from tough times, they found identity in them. And that’s the “wisdom” they passed on to their children. Rather than joy, they face the end of their lives alone, with a child who took his life, or in prison, addicted to drugs, etc. – thereby proving to the women that they are the failures their dads always predicted.
I truly do love to read everything you write and I don’t mean all of this to be as negative as it’s coming across. I just know that the specific people I’m thinking of would compare your life to their own experiences and interpret it as further proof of their own unworthiness. I guess what I hope for them is just a glimpse of YOUR light on their own path and the understanding that it’s not yet too late to change. They can still seriously commit to re-ordering choices. Because sometimes we AREN’T where we’re supposed to be and, in their cases, that could be seen as making all the difference!
Kay Arthur
Thank you so much for your comment on my post. It was an honest and sincere appraisal that gave me pause to consider the truth of your words.
I do find myself writing, from experience, optimistically about our journey through life and recognize that my tendency is to see things through rose-colored glasses. That stems, most likely, from my personality, upbringing, and faith. I and many of the people that I know have struggled at some point in our journey, oftentimes dealing with painfully sad and horrible experiences. At the time, we all angrily question the “whys” of these events. The agony of that experience seems to stop time. It feels that our life is defined by that brief leg of our journey where the clock stopped while our hearts broke into a million pieces. My personal experiences have shown me that, while time does feel to stop, our journey keeps moving and eventually most of us are able to move past it, scars and all.
I have also found that these scars do have a way of changing and defining us, as you also observed, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But, even in the worst case, it makes us who we are. And that is ok. It is our journey. Our own personal path. Our scarred heart keeps beating. Our souls forever mourn the past but attempt to heal and reconcile with the future.
While some people are unable to move past the pain of their tragic events or influences, it is my sincere hope that, at some point, they recognize the inevitability of their journey and are able to move forward towards a hopeful future, one that can still be lived with joy.
If, in my optimism, I can give one person a glimpse through my rosy glasses and see the glimmer of hope that their journey is still worthy of living a complete and happy life, then I have accomplished my intention.
Thank you again for your thoughtful and sincere comment. It was well received, thought provoking, and gave me the opportunity to look inward for my own clarity of thought. I truly appreciate hearing from my readers and exploring the many points of view that broaden our own perspectives.
Colleen
Life is a journey with many paths.
Kay Arthur
Thank you Colleen for reading my post. You are absolutely correct – there are many paths on our journey – some easier than others. Our goal is to find happiness along the way. 🙂