A Short Time Here

     I got a surprise when I looked in the mirror today. It seems that my salt and pepper hair has more salt than pepper in it now. It doesn’t seem to need a comb anymore either. I have lost so much of it that a simple hand pat will do. It appears that a few of my hairs have lost their way too and ended up in my ears. I can’t really blame them, though. All of those wrinkles on my face must be tough for them to navigate through. Still, I wouldn’t give up a single wrinkle or grey hair. I’ve earned them all. They are the evidence of every laugh and smile I’ve ever had.

     Sometimes, however, I am amazed at how my young soul ended up in this aging body. I surely don’t feel like a forty year old man on the inside. My soul keeps looking at this body in the mirror and wondering what happened. I guess that life here on Earth is just too brief to grasp at times. We were meant for eternity and life here is far too short even if we live 100 years. I can remember once reading the last words of Crowfoot, the great orator of the Blackfoot Nation. He said, "What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in theWintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

     Before your shadow loses itself in the sunset of eternity make sure that you live your life here to the fullest. Don’t worry so much about your aging body. It is just the vehicle that for a brief time carries your soul. Focus instead on the things that go on forever. Focus on the love you can give, the joy you can spread, the good you can do, and the oneness with God you can share with others. Fill your days with smiles and laughter and let the wrinkles fall where they may. Fill your days with learning and becoming through both dark hair and grey. Fill your days with love and joy and you will be too busy living them to count them. Remember, God only gives us a short time here. It is up to us to make the most of it.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella (joecool@wirefire.com) -- {used with permission} ]