The Beat Goes On

The beat is the rhythm of life. In public matters, in private, too. Things happen. Frequency shifts to up or down repeats. Phone calls dribble in or pour in. Email traffic is constant, falters, or comes in torrents. Same with Facebook, mail and happenings in the news.


I might add that medical appointments multiply with age!  And when you are the coordinator for self and one other, wow! Lots of appointments, tests, drug store visits and all the rest.


Some days it is an avalanche of details to manage. They are manageable. Somehow the rhythm calls us to attention and things get done in rapid fire. Other days the rhythm is irregular and the traffic light. It seems to take ages to manage the details on those days.  Yes; busy-ness helps us get things done well and in proper time sequence.


The irregular is more a problem.


There are backdrop environments to deal with as well. Weather is one. We get things done pretty much on schedule even though a snow storm rages outdoors. Hurricanes and tornadoes pretty much stop us in our tracks. That is their power over us. But most weather is livable. It accompanies us in daily routines. We live with it.


Family obligations is another backdrop. Some families live with constant drama and trauma. It is their personality or ethos. Other families are downright boring; nothing much of significance happens that demands attention or emotional investment. Our lives are humdrum. We do what comes our way. We live with the consequences and move on to the next challenge. Isn’t it interesting that not all families are like that? Like us?


On closer inspection big things do happen in our lives. We learn to live with them if they are upsetting. Each challenge prepares our sinew for the next one. Maybe that’s how old people get old? Their mettle strengthens with each challenge?  I think of my dad dealing with his own decline. He did so quietly and with resolve. It was pretty much hopeless, but then each day brought its own reward and he survived big odds until the very end.


May we all be able to live with the tempo of our lives. It is a challenge, but it is the spice, too. And from that we gain mighty tastes of what it means to be alive.


Joy to you this day. It is there to savor. First we have to see it!


November 22, 2019