Our family has
grown older, as has all the members of the family, with the exception of dad
and Scotty, who have already left this world.
Most of our rituals and traditions are but memories now; nice memories
but still memories and not real gatherings as they once were. We are all pretty much on our own now to find
our own way to live in this world, to find our times of enjoyment and to deal
with those crisis moments that appears at our doors from time to time.
When I was a kid I
used to play outside all day; sometimes with friends and sometimes alone. I loved being outdoors and being free to
wander. Whether it was in the streets of
Philly, the countryside of Waverly, or the beaches of Newport
Now I am older and
my body is worn so I mostly just sit (cause as my aunt would say, “Thomas’ just
sit”) and enjoy simply being wherever I am.
Now I feel much more a part of nature.
I simply enter into its stillness and become one with it all. I am less active but more centered and whole.
I like the concept
of ‘seasoning’, of waiting for something to come into its ripeness and
fullness. I see it in the trees, in
people, and in my thoughts and ideas.
Seasoning enhances the flavor, making it fuller and more alive. Seasoning takes time but I am finding that it
is well worth the wait. Life seasons
life, and it seems to me that is what growing old is all about.
The world around
me is too quick these days to go with the new, the bright and shiny. It is too impatient to wait, which leads to a
feeling of dissatisfaction and discontent.
Nature teaches me
to wait, to allow time for the ripeness to be fulfilled, the seasoning to bring
to fullness that which I wait for. The
Patriarchs and Matriarchs of faith teach me to wait, to cease striving and know
that God is God and will bring about all things in his perfect time. The barrenness of the trees and the
surrounding landscape teaches me to wait; to know that spring will come but
that now is the time for rest. “To
everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” God brings everything about in his time. I am to wait and allow the seasoning of my
life to occur and bring me to ripeness, fullness, and wholeness.
