Stories grow in the tellings.  Your life and mine are best understood in review.

None of us understands we’re in a tale until it’s over, and others (and ourselves) recite it.  That’s what Sam said to Frodo as they neared the end of their quest in The Lord of the Rings.  You and I are on quests, as well.  Where will it end, and what will that end be?  A poet wrote, “The clock of life winds slowly down; the years bring sorrow and renown.”  Our wandering thoughts stray to years gone by, bringing smiles and tears.  

As a younger man, I was enthralled by the future and seldom appreciated the present- much less the past.  I understand that now. While I wish I had savored the moments, I always had something to do. I wasn’t alone in that reality; I was just one of the rats in the race.  No one wants to be last at the table, so I ran as hard as I could. Life wouldn’t let me slow down. My obsessive personality would not let me rest. Fatigue took hold at last.  

New endeavors give zest to life, but the old are reservoirs of sweetness or bile.  In sipping from the old, we gain insight for guidance in the new. What was true is apt to prove true again despite transitory changes.  Fundamentals are still the building blocks of the game, and people today are not much different than those in the past. When we consider the fruits that remain, we understand which of our former efforts had real value.  This brings us a cocktail of regret and relief.   

The past gives us an anchor while the future gives us hope.  In The Shawshank Redemption, Red mused, “I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”  What is revealed is likely to be a product of what has been and plans that were made.

My wish for you would be that your thoughts of former days are comforting, even renewing.  Having said that, I realize those days are beyond recall. But the future is within our reach, and today is in our grasp.  What we do today will become history in the doing. Perhaps, the thrill of future uncertainties and the satisfaction of tasks well-done will be bookends framing your life.  

Failures await you, and faults may overtake you, but life is meant to be lived- albeit imperfectly.  I hope you make it across the border. I hope.

Sterl