The Earth Abides

I don’t know if it is my age or my illness but I recently seem to able to see patterns and cycles of life. It is so odd how life is unfolding itself before my eyes.

Watching a friend making the same mistakes over and over again, each time taking just a bit more of her soul though never addressing the real problem.

Watching a person from afar who is not a very nice person get away with doing bad things for many years. The payback will be at the worst possible moment in his life.

Watching a person who thought he was so much smarter than everyone else lose it all. Everything is gone: business, marriage, house, and money. Now he believes it all “happened to him.” In truth, he was not paying attention to any of the above. Too many ski trips to Italy. Too many nasty controlling comments to his wife. Too many shaky, underhanded business deals that failed. He was always looking for the big jackpot. He always wanted to be the “big man,” the smart businessman. He has nothing except several lawsuits against him.

Another who borrowed money from his family and friends for a business, which is now failing. He has no guilt. I can see that his drama has yet to be completed as lessons have not been learned.

My own situation: I wasn‘t paying attention to my health. I thought I was just out of breath. I thought I could keep moving. I was working too hard. Work was my life. It is now all gone. All for naught. It all never really mattered.

At a dinner party during that time, someone asked me what I did other than work. There was an embarrassing pause. I did nothing.

What have I learned? I have learned that life unfolds in its own time. I have learned to let things play out as they are meant to do. I have learned to pay attention. I have learned take the time to try to be a better human being. I have learned to slow down. I have learned to breathe.

My favorite quote is from a book I read long ago:

“Generations come and generations go but

the Earth abides.”

That is does, dear reader. I have learned that whatever happens, the messes we make of our lives, and the joys and the sorrows are part of the cycle of life. The secret is in what is learned.

If lessons are ignored, ramifications are sure to follow. But also beware. If abused, Mother Nature always wins whether it is to our bodies, our lives, our Earth.

Mother Nature has no humor.

The Earth Abides.