Gliding Toward The Finish Line

I have come to the conclusion that life is basically divided into two major halves: Life until your parents die and life until you die.

Before your parents die, life is commanded by you and pretty much you alone. This is the time for accomplishments, whether they be in career fields, family relationships or personal growth. In this time span, most people have the space to do what ever they are going to do in life or at least get it started. Mortality is neatly nestled in some far corner of the brain and the concept is rarely accessed.

After your parents die, your own mortality comes crashing to the front of your mind. You think back upon your parents, usually with admiration and you tend to catalog the things they did and in doing so reflect upon your own accomplishments to date. It’s natural. There is also sort of an inevitable surge that follows to get done what you want to get done. The clock begins ticking louder as you begin your own wait for the final sunset.

However, the whole process of living requires intermittent reality checks. Take a look at the above photograph. In the very end, you must decide whether you are looking at the sunset or the sunrise.

Read author Allen E. Rizzi’s latest books available at Amazon.com

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