Atrum Visum

Change is extant in the universe. Nothing is static. Everything moves and is in constant motion. So to is life.

Looking back, it is easy to see the change as we move through the passing years. Some signs are more obvious than others. The change in physical appearance. In my case, the greying of hair and the deepening of lines. Some are more subtle and more personal. Take for instance the changes that occur in ones' outlook and expectations.

As a young man I expected to accomplish great things. The world was nothing but one big opportunity waiting to be grasped and enjoyed. Plans were made, goals set, dreams dreamt.

At middle age I was deeply involved in the work of success. Meetings, more plans. Projects. People. Time was always the concern. There was never enough. Slowly, priorities came to be set. Some projects abandoned. Some plans left as plans. Some dreams still dreams.

And now, in the later parts of my life, a new perspective. New plans and new projects are now things of the past. Time becomes even more precious, but not for the same reasons. Dreams dreamnt but unfilled are now undestood to be beyond the scope of realization. In some cases they fail to fit into the timeline of sensed remaining years. Some are just beyond the scope of physical capabilities. Age is harsh. It takes from one many of the things that make life enjoyable. More and more, physical challenges are the norm rather than the exception. The real heartbreak is that age very rarely affects the mind in the same way. Memory remains. The memory of the sensation of boundless energy. The knowledge of physical capability not now available. It is cruel. The mind remembers. The mind knows the details, remembers the means, has the knowledge to accomplish. But the body fails.

Time is a cruel Master to which we are all subservient. We all serve it, suffer with it, resist its ravages as best we can. But in the end it has the upper hand.

Yes, change is inevitable. Change can be cruel, exciting, mystifying and even delightful. But in the end, change, like time, has an ultimate outcome that no one can escape.