Sunday, August 15, 2010

Mellow, Sunday


Sitting here under overcast sky in Northern California, listening to music on the satellite radio, hearing water cascading from a distant waterfall, sipping on a warm Earl Grey tea sweetened by Patzcuaro Honey, I ponder the meaning of life.

Well not actually the meaning of life , but the life that is to happen.....

My thoughts bring me back to my childhood, to my middle years , the experiences , the people I met and interacted with, the people that became friends, enemies and memories.

Looking back on how fast 60+ years have gone, saddens me knowing that so little time is left in relationship to the journey that has already been taken.

Now it is time to look forward to the remaining journey, knowing of how fast the next decade will arrive.

Will I be sitting at a keyboard in 10 years typing how fast the last 10 years has whizzed by?
How will life be in 2020?

Wow, that's a scary number.

I remember sitting at my wood desk in grammar school, one of the nuns , telling us that the end of the world was going to arrive soon. Well for her it probably did, she was old already when she was slapping wrists of small children and indoctrinating hell and fire during Catechism class.
And me, not even a Catholic.....

That was 1958 or so, when they were saying that..... it's still hasn't arrived, at least not for me. For many it has, I get a annual newletter from the high school I attended. I am shocked at how many of my fellow classmates have ceased breathing.....
I am lucky to say the least.

I am saddened that I have so little time, in perspective, already 2/3 of my life has slipped by and if I am lucky I'll have another 10 or 20 years to enjoy ......

Kind of depressing (Remember it is a gloomy gray Sunday morning) on one hand, but on the other kind of exciting that there is so many things yet to do and see.

Depressing that I didn't take more time before and do things, but in the big picture, I probably have done more than a majority of people ever do.... for that I am grateful and satisfied.
A friend of mine is planning his retirement next year in July. His wife already has been sitting at home , waiting for him to finish a few of his commitments, they have so many plans and things to do.
They keep asking about places in Mexico, they have already visited Patzcuaro ( if you remember, they are the ones that caused us to wait at the bus station for endless hours for them a few years ago) . They plan on renting in Mexico for awhile, travel around the country, take Spanish immersion classes, do all the things that one plans on doing.
I excited for them, and their excitement is contagious.
Here it is already almost September...3 months more and we kiss off another year...
I need to figure out a way to slow that clock up just a little in order to fit in some of the plans that I have created.
Gotta go, my Sunday is wasting away.......
One way is to spend less time on a keyboard.....you think?

11 comments:

1st Mate said...

Who knows, if we're still around in 2020, maybe we'll just talk to a machine and it'll put the words on the screen. Now THAT's a scary thought.

The Last Quarter said...

Just bringing in a dahlia to brighten my wife's day, I comment that it's a little past its prime but should be good for a couple of days. "That might be more than we have left," she offhandedly remarked with a mischievous grin...Must be something going around down there in Patzacuaro. In Felipe's latest post he's also wondering about the end of our corporeal existence...Paraphrasing Lin Yutang, "Belief in our mortality is a gloriously fine thing. It makes it possible for us to live sensibly, truthfully, and always with a sense of our own limitations; and many of us it makes poetic." Gracias.

Tancho said...

Bliss, I hate to tell you this, but you can talk into the computer now and have your words on the screen. The next 10 years will be even more rapid on the technology scene...

Tom, I think as we get older and with all the stuff going on nowadays, we old folks have a lot to be thankful for. I do not fear death, my only fear is not doing more stuff.....especially now that things seem to be set, financially, health wise, marriage wise, etc....
Melancholy to say the least...
Enjoy each day to the fullest, seems to be a great goal, we have so much to be thankful for!

Calypso said...

It is kind of the half full - half empty cup thing I think. There are a lot of people that didn't make it this far. I tend to consider it in terms of being happy for every day I have and letting the rest take care of itself - probably naive - but it works for me.

Have a GREAT day in any case.

Steve Cotton said...

I am always torn between living life and writing about life. There is a compromise in there somewhere. But I am still working on it.

Don Cuevas said...

Yes, I can see an end to this life ahead.

When it will come, ¿quien sabe? But now I appreciate each day more. There's the beautiful place in which we live, the fascinating alternative Internet world with which I interact and its seemingly endless surprises.

There's the endless panoply of life and color in Pátzcuaro and surrounds. There's the great food and meals often shared with friends. There are so many beautiful women to admire, but only one steadfast and lovely companion for me.

For me, the worst thing are inactive days, and there are a few. Sitting around in a gray cloud of inactivity doesn't suit me. That's the hint of a living death.

A few hours spent in Pátzcuaro, hanging out on the Plaza Grande at La Surtidora, chatting wth friends; visiting the mercado with its rich colors, smells and crowds: those revive me and give me "ánimo".

While I can appreciate a sunset and the onset of twilight, I still love the cool, fresh dawn.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

PS: My computer has been able to talk to me (but not take dication) out of the box. I stopped it from talking a few years ago, becuase I found its chatter distraction. I used to write playlets, using the various built-in voices. But no more.

The Dodson's said...

I feel sorry for those who don't have plans. That's a perfect way to waste your life. There's too much undiscovered in the world to see in a lifetime: cultures, cuisines, nature, thrills, etc. How can one not have plans?
Wm

Anonymous said...

very insightful. i too sometimes wonder about how much time i have. considering i'm 55, i hope to have a good 30 years left to do lots more traveling (including to patzcuaro), to enjoy family and friends and to hopefully,have grandchildren someday.

as for spending too much time on the computer, that is all i have done today. however, it is rare that i spend so much time e-mailing and commenting. i'm a very active person and for the past 5 days i was constantly on the go so today i woke up exhausted and happy that the friend i had planned on hiking with changed her mind because of our 90+ degree temps. i decided i needed a day to just kick back and relax and that is exactly what i'm doing. i do believe that we all need to make the best of each and every day because none of us knows how much time we have left. nomatter what age. we recently lost an 11 year old from a nearby town when a huge slab of ice fell on her while she and her family were hiking at the ice caves. another friend's son died of a pulmonary embolism, he was only 33. so like someone said, maybe it was you, we are lucky to hav made it as far as we have and God willing we will have many more, healthy years left.

by the way, if you wuld like to put a face to this commenter, read cynthia and mike's blog. they came over for lunch yesterday and posted about the visit.

take care and enjoy the rest of your time in ca.

teresa in lake stevens













AY BECAUSE NONE OU

Tancho said...

Teresa , so now you have come out of the closet, so to speak and everyone will now know you by sight...you assume that our memories are crystal clear....
You bring up an interesting topic of just kicking back once in a while. I find myself taking whole day, every 3 or 4 weeks where I find myself although getting up early, taking a few naps during the day, and just hanging around not accomplishing anything...Seems to happen every 30 days or so...I wonder if other people have the same lazy day?
Yep we are fortunate for waking up each day, may don't!

Anonymous said...

yes, everyone needs to kick back once in a while. and i loooove naps!

i'm a little confused as to what you meant when you said, "you assume that our memories are crystal clear." did you mena that if you were to run into me i would expect you to remember me? just curious.

take care and keep on enjoying your time in ca. how much longer will you be there? if you've said it in one of your posts, i must have somehow missed it.

teresa in lake stevens-again ;-)

Tancho said...

Yes Teresa, I wasn't crystal clear in that, what I meant to say was that you assume that my memory would remember your photo after some time has passed....

But now, I will make it a point to etch that beautiful smile in my mind. Now the only thing you will have to do is be sure and wear that same dress and carry the orchid while walking down the street in Patzcuaro for me to remember.
I am just waiting for my wife to return from Honduras visiting an ill family member, then we trek back to the land of sanity....