The setting sun…

“But those who look for all happiness from within can never

think anything bad which nature makes inevitable.”

– Marcus Cicero: Treatise on Old Age

To be clear from the start and for many reasons, this is the best time of my entire life!

  

A few thoughts…

I have several photos, etchings and various other artwork on the walls of my little office. Additionally, other small pieces of memorabilia remind me of people and travel to distant lands.

My favorite and centerpiece is a 34”x22” charcoal depiction of a skeleton done in 2001 by a friend, Marilyn. I love this drawing for a couple of reasons. In the first instance, my professional training in exercise physiology provides a great appreciation for the comprehensive skeletal framework upon which we as human beings function. Secondly, it suggests a character in thoughtful repose. Talented from a youngster, she continues to work out of her home studio on the West Coast of Florida.

On the bottom of the frame, I have attached a small sign with eight words that I look at and think about nearly every day. They are: 

I love these words for a couple of reasons. In the first instance, they remind me of how powerless and powerful I am. Powerless because as an individual, I have little influence on anything other than my ability to accept/reject (yes or no) ideas, reflect on the sensory input I get (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell), and the opinions I formulate.  Powerful for the very same reasons. Secondly, they act as the framework upon which my life is guided.

In my mind, the drawing and words have great synergy.

Every morning when I turn on the computer, I see these reminders that life moves on. There are no shortcuts, no coasting, no settling in as the final year’s drift toward the end of my journey.

The opening...
This morning I sat outside waiting for the sun to poke its rays from behind the edges of the Catalina mountains to the east of our home. Drinking coffee and looking for the dawn, these words stayed with me a little longer than usual.

Sunlight comes slowly here, bringing to life the earth tone greens and browns of the Sonoran Desert. At first light, the detail of the mountain's rocky face is obscured because the light comes from behind it. Even as the sun begins its climb, the mountain is shrouded in grayish tones.

The rising sun from the east shines directly against the Tucson Mountains to the west. Their slopes are crisp and clear in the morning light. As the day proceeds, everything becomes bright and shiny.  Then as the sun peaks and begins to wander west, detail on the face of the Catalina’s comes sharply into focus.

The closing...
The end of the day is my favorite. When we lived in San Diego, the sunset was ‘a happening.' People gathered quietly in small groups or by themselves along the Pacific shores and stayed until the sun slipped below the ocean’s horizon. In the encroaching dusk, they quietly drifted away to await the next evening's mesmerizing event.

In Tucson, desert sunsets are also beautiful. But rather than watching the western sky, I turn my gaze to the east. As the sun moves westerly, the Western Slopes of Catalina’s craggy cliffs are soaked in the light. The rocky faces and peaks take on orange and pink hues, gently fading into darkness with the sinking sun. Sharp detail dwindles into soft edges, yet the richness of watching it happen is surreal and breathtaking. 

The natural cycle…

This daily cycle is a metaphor for the life I have lived. As a child, despite the daylight of ideas and experiences rushing toward me, I was still shrouded in a kind of grayness that lacked clarity. In the middle and later years, I learned to make decisions and understood the consequences of life choices. I also came to appreciate that wherever I was at any moment was a result of thoughts I had accepted and acted on.

Life is full of challenges, but it is also full of joy…much of which has to do with the three sets of words above.

It is true I cannot run as fast, jump as high, think quite so quickly, but the setting sun on the western slopes of my mind are vibrant and clear – sometimes surreal and breathtaking. I have also noticed as the sun continues to set, some of the challenges in my life have taken on softer edges. I like that.

As I sit near the end of this day and this piece, let me repeat, “…for many reasons, this is the best time of my entire life!”

- ted