Life and Times

The other day I went by myself to get lunch at one of the dining halls. Rather than sit inside alone, I decided to eat outside and have sort of a picnic with myself. It was a nice day so I sat up against the side wall of a building on the sidewalk, under the shadow of a nearby tree. It was truly serene. The building across the way looked so perfectly placed and the tree in front of it was so green and the sky was such a bright color blue that the contrast between them captivated me for quite awhile. Then I thought- so many generations and ages of people have walked this ground- many that are old now and many more that are dead and gone. The small plaques and memorials all around here remind me of this all the time. I sat there, so intensely grateful to even be alive and to have youth and energy and good health. But those memorials only remind me that I will someday pass too. I will be gone, and this concrete that I sit on will still remain. Maybe someone else will have a picnic here too, when I am long gone, I don't know. If they do, I hope they enjoy it as deeply as I did. Whatever the case, it was a beautiful and profound experience and I'll never forget it.