Saturday, November 30, 2019

Dec 2019

Ruminating about returns...

On the day of our birth every year
The Sun returns to the same place in the sky
That it held on our first earthly day ever.
We call these our solar returns. Indeed,
People utter celebratory, "Many happy returns!"
To encourage our perseverance and continuance.
So the Sun welcomes our new year
By retracing his annual path through the seasons.
It's a known path, but still filled with fresh discoveries...
As we ourselves revisit our pasts along
With new iterations and variations,
Fed with debris we've left behind...
Or have we?
Always old.
And
Always new.
And
Always a familiar
Handrail and steps to remind us
How precious it all has been
And
Will
Be.
...
My own solar return was a couple of days ago. That means I've now been tap dancing for 70 years and chanting for 36 years—and I'm not out of breath yet, my friends. I thank Rich Fuller for this inspiring glimpse of his lush world,
taken on the Summit Path, Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill), Penang, Malaysia.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?

              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course