What True Thing Remains...

Dear Ones,

The coming of autumn - that slight change in the air, almost palpable - brings with it a feeling of nostalgia. I grew up in Wisconsin, and the coming of autumn meant that the precious time of summer would be gone for many months. The nostalgia that accompanied this knowledge pulls at one's heart.

As the years pass, time seems to pass much more quickly. Events happen, illnesses come and go, friends pass, accomplishments are made, new people come into our lives, we work from day to day and week to week, and month to month. Sometimes there seems to be no time to reflect.

But reflection is needed for a life of meaning. Sometimes it is good to ask: what true thing remains? What true thing has always been part of us?

One day I asked a wonderful woman who was nearing 100 whether or not she felt 100. "Inside," she said, "I have always been the same - me!"

That is the one true thing. Who you are is so much greater than your accomplishments. Who you are is the one who has always observed, without flinching, your life.

When you reach 100, this is who you will be, too.
Warmly,
meb