A few days ago, as I briskly walked the Vancouver Seawall, a young couple ran passed me with the elegance and confidence of two gazelles. A few steps behind me, a young mother held the hand of a toddler learning to walk alongside her. That’s when I thought, I am living the Riddle of the Sphinx. You know how it goes…
Transitions
“In the kind of world we have today, transformation of humanity might well be our only real hope for survival.”
Stanislav Grof
Thirty years ago, when my parents entered their 50’s, they were asked to participant in a university study on aging. They were interviewed separately in cubicle offices by young 20 something year-old students. The questions were basic, covering a broad range of subjects that were easily answered, until the last one. “Looking back over all of your life experiences, what advice would you give to a young person starting out.” In separate offices, without any discussion, and without hesitation, they answered, as if in unison: Remember that time is finite. Do what you must do. Choose your friends wisely for they will influence the quality of your life.
“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”
Anatole France
I have been reading and re-reading the comments to The Change Equation: The Beginning. My deepest thanks goes to all those in our brilliant and discerning blogger community who joined the dialogue. Your humour, joy and wisdom have added so much to this discussion and to my personal understanding. It appears that the change equation will have a series of iterations.
“Once in awhile,
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.”
Anonymous
A special thanks to all my blogger friends who joined the Wedding Dialogues. Your thoughtful comments and “likes” were much appreciated.
The Wedding Dialogues would not be complete without an epilogue containing some final thoughts on transitions.
I am one of those famous Baby Boomers. We are the generation that seemingly had everything going our way. Some people think we are, for the most part, selfish and have made fortunes at the expense of our children. And predictions are that we will burden the health care and pension systems to the point of bankruptcy. True, there are a lot of us coming through the life cycle at the same time. We have always liked to “stir the pot” just by being who we are. Our parents had great hopes that we would exceed their living standards and continue in their footsteps to build a better world for our children. History will be the judge of whether we have achieved either of these goals. I cannot speak for my entire generation, but I can share some thoughts from the perspective of an Aging Boomer.
