I feel as though I am floating on my back down a great river. I can hear people living near the banks. If I turn my head, I can see them. When I tried to move closer, I found I could not change my course. I cannot reach them and for my efforts, I am left tired. Believing I belong with those on the banks, I felt helpless as I floated along, unable to grasp anything solid. It was isolating living as a witness to the lives of others.
With time I learned to accept my situation and enjoy things as they were to me. I found I enjoyed watching simple patterns blend together into immeasurable complexities as though they were placed in motion at perfect balance. The patterns I see and hear among the people, plants, animals, and stars along the river fill me with ineffable awe. Tangible lives within grasp, these motions between moments are merely a backdrop in the lives of shore folk. I don’t expect them to understand; I only hope they’re as in love with their gifts as I am with mine.
I am happiest when I let go of the urge to live another’s life and enjoy the river’s gift. The gift of perspective and weightlessness if I choose to accept it. The gift of being more in touch with the movement of the river than the solid ground at the bank. To resonate with movement and change instead of the static. My gift is in seeing the world as a series of changes instead of a set of states.
I am a child of the river. I am a citizen of time.
Oldest comments (0)