You might think I’m making this up, recalling at random some selected situations just to prove a point. But I’m not.
At this moment, the feelings I’m expressing here are authentic, spontaneous, and of course, logical. That’s because all the unannounced pieces quickly fell into place. I wish they would do that more often — just sneak up on my blindside and surprise me.
This time I invite you to join me as I sit here and look through floor to celling glass doors that extend twelve feet across the almost entire side of the living room. Immediately beyond is the lanai, pool, grass, and sea wall — all neat and orderly but ultimately temporary if a hurricane should come along.
What comes next and has been there forever is the water. In only a single glance it suggests the infinite, enhanced by ever changing patterns caused by a gentle but straight wind out of the southeast. Earlier, however, it was nearly mirror smooth, rippled only by a duck paddling its way toward anything resembling at least a few bites of breakfast.
Edging the water are palm trees, their smooth bark covered trunks thrusting skyward. From the top of each is a fountain of fronds that sway back and forth as if keeping time to some heaven sent music heard only by them. The backdrop for all of this is a blue sky filled with dazzlingly white fluffy clouds.
In the depth of the night, however, those same trees take the form of silent and nearly motionless sentinels, dark forms that intercept star light and moon light to create eerie looking patterns on the ground below.
Water, trees, and sky have been that way for eons, catching and holding the attention of huge prehistoric animals that roamed the forests, being witnessed by Biblical characters, squinted at by Columbus as he crossed an uncharted ocean, and now entertaining us as we walk crowded beaches or pause at high places to look down upon the landscape. The timelessness that exudes from every scene mocks the likes of calendars and clocks no matter how technically advanced or accurate.
But back to the present, what’s outside is not nearly the end of it. Inside, there is music that harks back thousands of years ago — sounds stemming from the simplest of wind and string instruments mixed with human voices. Mostly, but not always, it sounds much different from those ancient beginnings.
It is inviting and beguiling to forceful and overwhelming. It also is timeless as evidenced by such musical expressions as Somewhere My Love and I Left My Heart In San Francisco and on and on . . . . . . .
Even with such a tiny sampling there is no end to the ultimate and collective worth of any music no matter what kind it is, where created, or how performed. Whether it’s because of the tune or the lyrics, music speaks in ways that can neither be fully explained nor described. It reflects who we are, what we think, and what we are willing to die for. Every composer and performer leaves behind an endless array of stimulating memories to help us keep on keeping on.
Finally, and as if it were acting as a cherry atop the dessert, there is a fragrance coming from somewhere — perhaps from a flower garden or from a lotion or even perfume. Whatever it is, it adds an unmistakable sweetness to the scene.
None of this should ever be thought of as incidental or irrelevant. To the contrary, this is merely a small sample of the many elements of timeliness ready to help us get rid of the part of our lives that’s awash in unrewarding dash, hash, and trash.
From that will come a new feeling of contentment, an awareness that says that yes, there are forever things that can take you away from whatever makes no sense, even neutralize whatever is dragging you down.
Find a pond of still or sparkling water, trees that lean into the breeze, a sky with brightly lit clouds that emphasize its vastness. Listen to the music left by the talented who are now playing for the angels. Breathe gently so as to detect a hint of perfume that reminds you of love and belonging forever.
All of it is just as timeless as you are — a one and only specific that has never been nor will ever be again.
Tearfully enjoy and be strengthened and delighted by whatever tugs at your heartstrings.
