The sun sets on another day…
I will apologize in advance. Each day I try to keep to around 300-700 words. I have just started writing this post and fear it will not be so short, but we will see. Each day I consider things I have seen, talked about, discovered, uncovered, ingested, digested, laughed at, loved, hated, or merely baited and in the process I come up with a single topic to write about. Sometimes it is similar to so many others talking about the past, the future and the now, and sometimes it is something new, we will see how this goes tonight. I also apologize, this post is not about you, or it is about you, but only you can decide that, I did not write about it with anyone in mind.
As you can guess there are a lot of parks where I am. Truthfully there are a lot of parks anywhere if you look for them and many people do, and many people don’t. Where I am the closest large park is on Lake Michigan only a few miles away. I go there and smile at the guards, laugh with the people who stand at the park with me, and watch the sunset. Tonight was different.
As I drove into the park a herd of deer waited. They watched me like I was some caustic invader, then slowly bounded off to the south. I watched them go and did not have a camera close enough to grab the images of the fawns and does as they dissolved into the forest. I committed it to memory instead. As I drove to the guard shack the shack was empty, dark, no signs remained nor any light of any kind, and I drove by looking inside to chairs carefully placed, and a setting that was gone for now. As I drove into the long road leading to the beach, parts of trees were strewn about the usually pristine roads, leaves mixed with large pieces of trees, pine cones, and general clutter blew in the wind to and fro, and I dodged the bigger sections making sure I did not hang up the truck. I pulled to the beach and the sheds and garages were chained and locked, while the pathway was cluttered as well as though years of neglect had caressed it all, when I knew it had only been days. I walked to the overlook and watched the sun try to set.
The waves beat upon the shore, and the wind howled. Yesterday it was over 80 degrees, and now it was barely 40, and as I watched, the waves grew and pounded not only each other, but everything in their path. True, it is a lake, but it is not just a lake, it is a small ocean, a body of water that for the young would seemingly have no end. I heard a crack behind me and turned as I watched the trees sway in the wind, their leaves turned upwards with the sheer power of the onslaught upon them. I walked to a tree and put my hand on the trunk and felt the tree sway to and fro even though it was nearly four feet in diameter. It was at that moment I thought of this line of thinking, and the end of the warmth, the season, and all that we had been experiencing.
You see, for every beginning there is an end, and for every end there is a new beginning. Yes, I know, this seems almost obvious, or does it? I realized that I had been thinking about this very idea not for a few minutes, or hours, or days or weeks, but for years. For every beginning there is an end, and for every end, yes, there is a beginning. This may not be what you think or hope, or even consider all of the time but I feel it is true.
When something starts it is usually built on a foundation, and the foundation may be strong or weak. This is often hard to say. This is true for most beginnings. From being born, to a new car, from a relationship, to a sailing ship, each thing is built based on some sort of idea or plan. The foundation whether weak or strong has an effect on the item, but it is not the determiner. A strong foundation has advantages but can change over time, and a weak foundation can grow and become far more. The tree that cracked had a strong foundation, but the wind was relentless, and it will be changed forever. If we build on strong foundations, we will have a good start, but the way to the way may change everything and we should always be aware, each day is a new beginning. Yeah, that’s right, each day is a new beginning that will set our foundations for that day, or for more. Each day we have a chance to make things stronger, or weaker when it comes to us. Now all the other stuff, it requires maintenance too so pay attention to the beginning of it all, and the beginnings of each day.
There is an end as well though. If you have not kept up, the name 29000 sunsets is a definition of an end. If we only had 29000 sunsets, would you do something different? It is a finite stake in the ground to allow us to consider what we are missing, and how we can stop missing it. If there is a finite end, are we waiting too long to find those things that are important? What is important, and what should be discarded? Yuck, this sounds depressing, but it is not, nor is it meant to be. Each day we should strive to have the best day possible not because we are some silly over the top positive person, but because we can! We should have the best day every day because we can, not because of some hint of an end. The end may be long or short, happy or sad or a million other things. The end may take an instant or forever, in the end it is an end, but it is only over when it is over, not before, and of course not after.
In the middle of it all we should realize that any end comes with a promise of a new beginning. No, I will not preach or tell you how you can get here, only you can decide that but remember, a broken vehicle opens us to a new vehicle, leaving a location opens the possibilities of a new location, relationships ending open new relationships, death opens up possibilities for new beginnings as well.
Now, this isn’t some afterlife discussion, gads, that would be so theoretical, mainly because I have not died. If you ask me, I will talk about my beliefs, but not here. I do mean in death we have options for rebirth. As the tree falls in the woods, the bear hears it, because he is in the woods as well (Funny huh). In the death of the tree there are new trees, more growth, and the circle continues. Don’t expect me to start singing Elton John, he does it far better than I could, but this all boils down to you. The sun has set on another day, is it an ending or a doorway to a new beginning tomorrow? The choice is up to you.
Lastly, please remember, we are in between, and I know that is where I usually focus. That in between where we squeeze every moment out of every day to make it a day to remember, not a day to blend in with one after another after another after another ad nausea. Instead a day to make all days, not a day to end all days, but a day to begin another day, where we can go even further.
I have a friend who is past awesome. For some time now he has posted a new picture every day. It may not seem like much to some people, but he finds something new and exciting each day and it is a passion he has been exploring and living. He shares these not just for anyone to see, but for him as well, and in the process, we all come along for the ride. Me, I have written every day for a long time, and it was a beginning so many years ago born out of an end, and an exploration each day. (But usually not this bad)
So as the sun sets on another day, this moment is a beginning and an end to you, not for this post, or for me, but something to remember. A stoic heralding that there are new things in store, and old things, and just things. Grasp them all, and begin and end as it makes your life better knowing that for every ending, there is a new beginning, and for every beginning there is an end, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and smile at the stars beyond…