The Circle of Life

No matter how you look at it, life often catches us by surprise with the rapidity of its flow and ceaselessness of its movement towards completion.  Just as the path of the Sun across the Earth’s surface marks the duration of one complete turn of our home on its axis, so too does the movement of the younger and older generations mark the time of our own circle of life.

Take for instance a teacher.  He/she would have guided the process of maturity of his/her students: offering words of wisdom, advice, knowledge and generally being the one to care for the physical and psychological needs of the younger generation.  He/she would have been relied upon, and been regarded with a certain level of awe and respect (hopefully); while he/she would regard those under his/her care with the feeling of authority and responsibility (I hope).

But, within the space of time akin to the blink of an eye, that student is no longer a child, but an adult.  With no marked transition or visible door through which to pass, an 18 year old ceases to be a guided member of society and becomes a guiding force for the next generation.  The teacher now has to revise his/her perspective of this past student, and now regard him/her as a colleague, peer and sometimes, a superior.

In that instant, where the brain has to reconcile the two images, we are made aware of our position on our own wheel of time and realise that we are that much closer to the completion of its axial spin.  A look at the older generation will also confirm this observation: our own heroes and mentors are gradually abdicating their position to us, and we once more have to reconcile our position to a higher level of maturity and wisdom while shouldering the titles of ‘old fashioned’ and ‘old timer’…labels bestowed by us to our parents’ generation.

BUT! fear not, this should not a panicky you make. When your doctor suddenly becomes younger than you and the bank agent managing your half million dollar mortgage dredges up memories of a gummy diaper wearing babe in arms, indulge in the greater moments of your life and acknowledge that your contribution to the wheel of humanity was well made.  Then, look to the now and enjoy the kaleidoscope of images and pleasures given to you while like an oracle you project the vision of what you would like to see as you come full circle.

Like the Earth’s own axial spin, each phase of our lives has its own unique and wonderful features:  the wander and potential of the dawn, the dazzling and energised brilliance of the morning, the concentrated power of the days pinnacle, the mellower tones of the afternoon sun, the glorious and vibrant colours of the evening, the soft romantic strains of the star studded moonlit night and finally, the soft velvet touch of the midnight hours which enfolds us all in her gentle embrace.

Enjoy each phase, regret not those which have passed and fear not those which will come knocking.  They are all part of the circle of life.