December 01-A, 2022

**The Last of Fall 11/29/2002 Oil Paint Rendered –Flat Branch Greenway, Charlotte, North Carolina**

The tides and the seasons,
going and coming.
My wife and I are reaching the end of our lives,
and we have a great-granddaughter due in April.
It doesn't end.

Our genes and our influence continue
to impact life
long after we are gone. 

Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 CE) said:
"Cold or warm. 
Tired or well-rested. 
Despised or honored. 
Dying...or busy with other assignments. 
Because dying, too, 
is one of our assignments in life. 
There as well: 'To do what needs doing.'"

He said that 2,200 years ago.
I'm saying it still after all these years.
Things are passed on.
And what is gone
comes back around.

And we may well discover
that "one of our assignments"
is to come back around,
like the tides
and the seasons.
Just to enjoy the ride.

Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters and five granddaughters within about twenty minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything. View more posts