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One Step Forward and Two...
"Jesus has made this ebb and flow of light and darkness, activity and rest, birth and death, the sign of a higher life, a life which we live in Him, a life which knows no decline, and a day which does not fall into darkness." --Thomas Merton
As one who has begun to experience the contemplations of impending winter, the beauty of this design: this ebb and flow, activity and rest, birth to death, it is with pleasure I look back and realize that somewhere along the line, I went from one step forward and two steps back to a pattern of two steps forward and one step back. This positive progression gives me confidence the future of each of us can bring a day in which life knows no decline. This is the natural progression through which, with lessons learned, we move into a closer union with our God.
This latter time when the desires of the flesh are mysteriously replaced by the joys of the spirit, is such a marvelously beautiful time, I now understand those who express gratitude for the passing of their youthful yearnings. I find myself greatly amused by the smallest things such as the six year-old who just interrupted the writing of this piece to quickly show me her new bunny then dismiss me with a "Well, I'll let you get back to your sleep now."
The child is in such a hurry. I am in no hurry at all.
Jane Mullikin
From the spring of our birth until the final sunset of our winter, life moves forward in the same progression as that of all humankind since the beginning of time. From the first steps of the toddler till the final shuffle of the elderly, there is a continual progression, regression, progression and once again a smaller regression. With each new experience, there is a corresponding lesson to be learned; the lessons learned quickly allow rapid progression, but the ones learned slowly leave us certain we are moving back more than we are moving forward. Then there are the lessons we staunchly refuse to learn...
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