Skip to main content

An autumn afternoon

Imagine an afternoon, many years from now.

It's autumn, and the sun is already low in the sky.

You've seen a few of these afternoons where the light is golden and magnificent, but this one is different because it's going to be your last in this life.

It won't hurt.

It won't take long.

It's not the end of everything, just the end of this thing.

And on the last day of your life, you take the opportunity to reflect.

What are the things that make you smile?

What are the things that you are proud of? 

One thing I bet you don't think about...

The extra hours you spent at work. I bet you don't think about those.

Of course, doing interesting work is exciting and it is important to do something that you enjoy. 

But on that final afternoon, I'll bet it is special people who trigger the most powerful emotions. 

That trigger the most tears. 

That means the most.

These are the memories that make a life worth living.

It's important that you realise this now..

You know that afternoon is coming, but it's not that afternoon yet.

One day the sun will go down and you won't be there to see it come up again. But today is not that day.

So you still have an opportunity to pivot.

I pray that you have many happy years between this day and that.

And in those days, I pray that you will be conscious about the choices you make.

I pray that you choose the things that will make good memories.

If you think to yourself: "My choices could be better", then I pray that you are kind to yourself and then you commit to making better choices.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Handstands

I’m waiting for a coffee on a Saturday morning, standing next to the counter in a suburban shopping centre. Around the corner comes a Mum with three spirited children. The impact of the small family on the shopping centre energy is palpable. The children are full of life, and the mother has her hands full as the little troupe, aged five, four and three, I estimate, engage with everything with energetic gusto. ‘No running’, Mum says to Mr 4, as a four-year-old energetic boy goes tearing past me. Mum turns around to see the three-year-old walking slowly behind. ‘Come on’, she says to Mr 3, coaxing the littlest one to quicken his pace. Distracted from the older members of the troupe for a few short moments, Mum turns around and sees Mr 4 doing a cool breakdance style handstand in the middle of the shopping centre floor. ‘No handstands’, Mum says. She does not see the coolness in Mr 4’s handstand.  Mr 3, however, is visibly impressed and cannot resist the call of acr...

Chapter 2

Not again, she thinks to herself. And then the stairwell begins to lose its composition. Damn she says. It's early.  She grips the balustrade, knowing that it's useless. In the realisation, grips harder and closes her eyes.  This, at least, is helpful. The visual experience was harrowing the first time. It still is, but at least this time it is somewhat expected and 'normal'. Remembers the first time, it must have been 3 months ago now. Was sitting at a cafe in her home town, the smell of fresh waffles thick in the morning air, mixed with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Ethiopian, she knows. Pip and Pup was a weird name, but the coffee was to die for. The light has been different, that morning, and she wonders how it might have been different if she had not needed to use the bathroom at Pip and Pups.  She had walked down the passage past the kitchen, and the passage seem to stretch out and bend to the right. Even though she had screamed loud, no one paid any attenti...

Ancestors

It's been a long time.  A long time since I thought about him. And today I visited his grave. Actually, its not really his grave. His mother was buried there many years ago, and his ashes were scattered there after his cremation.  His brother thought this was the best place for him to rest . I'm not sure what I expected. Perhaps I thought that this would give me "closure", or a feeling of relief. Perhaps it's been so long, and the emotion and feelings are hidden behind many years.  We drove on long straight deserted roads, through old mining areas and tired looking cattle yards.  We passed across the marks of an old burnout, and drove through Jarrah forests and pine tree plantations.  As we got close to the cemetery, I felt something stirring deep in my belly. The stirring of pain, trauma and emotion long forgotten. The cemetery was a quiet simple clearing setback from the main road and surrounded by virgin bush. Some overgrown bushes covered the path, and I par...