Monday, January 21, 2019

The Great Human Myth

Winter, Icicle, Snow, Icy, Water, Nature, Frozen, Frost


For some reason humankind has embraced the idea that they are in total control of their lives and the events surrounding their lives. One has only to look out of the window today in my neck of the woods to be reminded who's really in control. After a weekend of more than a foot of snow and winds gusting to 35 mph, I woke up this morning to a temperature of -7 with a wind chill of -21. If you think you have any control over any of that, you are either seriously delusional or you believe in myths.

There is so much about being human that is totally out of our control. Besides the weather, the most prevalent myth in our society is about aging ... we are all going to get old. Some of us will age better than others. Some of us will wake up one morning, look in the mirror and, much like what I thought when I looked out of the window this morning and saw five foot icicles, say to ourselves: " What happened?" No amount of hair dye, face lifts, and dressing like our grandkids is going to change Mother Nature's most important lesson of them all: things are born, things serve their purpose, things get old, things die. It's not what happens to us, it's how we respond to it. Some of us will let ourselves go gray gracefully, some will not. Some will trade in those three inch heels for comfortable, sensible shoes, and others won't. Whatever we decide, it will make the difference between enjoying the wisdom and freedom that comes with age, or fighting it tooth and nail. In the end, we're all gonna get old. As usual, Mother Nature has the last word on that.

So today I am spending the day in my favorite plaid flannel nightgown with matching flannel PJ pants (thank you, Granddaughter Gabby for this warm and thoughtful gift) and binge-watch decorating shows on TV. If that gets old, I have tons of books and movies to entertain me. In fact, I might just take a nap. I am officially taking a Snow Day. Thank you, Mother Nature, for this gift. Now, where did I put my tea pot?

And so it is.