Several times a month, I have the pleasure of sharing breakfast at a local diner with a young man who gives a great mental massage. Breakfast never ends without ingesting fresh info & a different perspective along with the eggs over-easy & grits.
It's not to much of a stretch to say Luke is old enough to be my grandson - 22 to my 64. He has an unusual mind & attitude - was tempted to say an old soul in a youthful body, but while that is an easy platitude, it is totally off base. Luke has a vibrant outlook, a zeal for life & enough tempering to be able to share it with the world. Maybe it's the tempering that makes me think "old" when a better word is... It eludes me. Maybe Luke deserves a lexicon of his own.
Luke is consumed with considering the WHY in our lives. Not just his, but EVERYONE's. He thrives on hearing them, delving into them, helping others recognize & connect with them, sharing them with the world through The Why Blog, one of my weekly must reads. It's enriching, at my age, to be friends with someone at the beginnings of his WHYs, to bask in the fun of hearing - and, even more, watching - him talk about his passion.
As my dear Mama would say, the world is his oyster & every month has an R.
Driving home yesterday from Daddy Pops, found myself wondering what I'd like to say to Luke, what one bit of Elder wisdom I could share with someone who gives me so much youth-filled inspiration. This morning, it hit me - life is a game of Chutes & Ladders.
Chutes & Ladders - am sure Luke, coming from a large family with a wide range of ages, is well aware of the classic children's game, where a roll of the dice or a spin of the wheel might send land you on a chute cascading you back a few (or many) spaces ~or~ on a ladder lifting you up closer to the finish.
In my real-life Chutes & Ladders, have typically learned more from the chute incidents than from the ladder.
Smiling, thinking about my #1 ladder experience - my wedding, from meeting & immediately handing over my heart to John to the actual wedding weekend. September 1-4, 1989. Definitely the mega ladder of my life, with nary a single chute from our 02/03/89 first connect to our 09/03/89 CONNECT.
Along the way from then to now, we've - individually & together - experienced many a chute & ladder. I think John would agree that the chute moments have ultimately taken us up to new awareness insight appreciation rather than permanently dragged us down.
And no matter how ghastly the tumble seems to be, we have invariably gotten back on our true path, eager for the next roll of the dice or spin of the wheel.
Every time Luke & I connect for breakfast & a gab, it's a precious moment for me. One day - for me, far too soon - he will be off to the bigger, wider world that already embraces him, is already enriched by him. No more ordering the special, catching up, talking about his most recent podcast, my most recent conference or book recommendation.
Am taking special care to be fully engaged in this here & now. Enjoying the moment. Remembering an awesome mind massage that left me thinking way beyond what was said, got me thinking this morning - "Chutes & Ladders!"
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