January 23, 2024 – B

A ranch, say, in Wyoming,
or a pizza restaurant, say, in DC,
or you, say, or me,
develops their own rhythm and flow,
maintaining their own balance and harmony,
in dealing with all that must be dealt with
through all situations and circumstances
coming their way.

Whatever that is, it is the way 
things are done there over time.
It is their way of doing things.
It is who they are.

Identity develops over time.
It is not imposed on time.
Time will tell who we are.
We will not tell time who we are.
And who we say we are
is a gift of time and place.

We all would be different 
with a different point of origin
and a different birth date,
or just a different birth date
if it spanned a long enough time frame.

We are not born who we are,
or even born to be who we are.
We contribute to our development
but we aren't the sole determinant
of who/how we turn out to be.

Rhythm and flow,
balance and harmony,
form and shape us
as we bend and sway
in response to their
influence upon us,
the way the banks 
shape the river 
that forms its banks.

And here we are,
dancing our way
through what remains
of our time left for living,
seeing what we can do
with what comes our way--
and who we will become 
because of it.

We are all being born still,
the older we get.

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