Today would have been my 34th college reunion had I gone. I had a great time in high school and learned a lifetime of lessons in college, but I'm not much of a clinger. I gleaned some great friends: my Debs and Marcias and Alannas and Lauras.
I envy those who can stick with it, though. They are the girls in my college class who are besties with six or seven girls after all these years. I wish I believed you can live in that place without it changing, even after new experiences overwrite our lives, but I don't.
Life seems more efficient than that. We'd be like Thidwick the BigHearted Moose if we tried to carry absolutely everything along with us! Before we knew it, we'd be knee deep in people hanging off our antlers that we can't possibly hold. And so our memories hang onto the stories and recollect them from time to time. That depressing divorce statistic was in the news again -- 50% of couples who marry also dissolve it. That only makes me wonder if every other person I meet is walking around in a haze from a life that just came crashing down. It's discouraging, is what it is. They don't inundate us with the bleak statistics of people playing the lottery, do they? Marriage has way better odds than that.
I'm coming around to this constantly changing cosmic life plan concept. No, not at the moment it happens: change is uncomfortable and scary until we settle back down. But I like the idea of knowing the inhospitable parts will pass on eventually. That's a relief! Knowing that definitely helps me remember to savor the joys.
And then there's that big old soft pillow of love to tuck us in. The peace of it, the camraderie and optimism helps to be less fearful of life's unpredictability. Love (the good kind) captures and transforms us through devotional selflessness and patience. It sets us free to become strong.
Love brings us into the moment because that is where it resides. It never fades when we part. It changes us from the inside, growing until it spills into others. The more we give, the better we feel.
For all the things we search for and desire, love is the noblest. People that are focused behind or ahead might miss it at the door, but if love finds you, I hope you throw off those useless statistics and bet the farm.
Interesting post. I too am disturbed by some of our college friends, who appear not to have moved on emotionally. That was 34 years ago, and lots happened in that 34 years!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the love I've found since then, including a new life in Boston!