"AYE, THERE'S THE RUB"

At the  lake in the Poconos

The year 2018, from here on out, will go zooming by into oblivion, so to speak, leaving behind it a trail of faded ambitions that I had for making it a year of new accomplishments and experiences. Some of those things happened, some did not. But all that I promised myself that I would do and be, all that I said I would finally have time to get around to, all that in my mind seemed entirely possible, still linger in the sanctuary of my heart and are not forgotten.
     But, of course, I realize that it is a common trait of human thinking to imagine things on a grander scale than life itself will sometimes allow to happen. On the other hand, it is also a common human trait to make excuses for why things were not or are not possible. 
     The thought that comes to mind is a line from the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet: "aye, there's the rub." In other words, there is an underlying tension that hums at the center of the human spirit that makes life both interesting and frustrating at the same time. 
     As a child, I was a dreamer--a day dreamer--always imagining myself being able to do amazing things. In part, that was because I felt very inadequate when it came to some real life challenges like playing sports--a very important ability in the lives of kids in the 1950's. Also, other kids always seem to know so much more than me about almost everything. I didn't know how they knew things, they just did. 
     But now that I'm 75 years old, I have come to the place wherein I realize that life is a series of successes and failures, opportunities and detours, joys and sorrows, ease and struggles--"aye, there's the rub." However, let it be known that that is the way life simply is and not the result of some mean spirited force that gets amusement from human misery and pain. 

Sunset Prophets

     I say all this to make a point, and the point is that we all still need to dream no matter who we are and how old we are, to sometimes think big, to continue to make promises to ourselves that we may or may not be able keep, depending on the unfolding circumstances of our lives, and to come to terms with the greater reality that the best thing we can do is to accept ourselves as truly lovable people who mean well and whose lives are important to the creative and positive energy of the world.