The Dawning

     In the early morning hours, that point of darkness just before dawn, the heavens were filled with an infinite number of stars. They stood out crisp and clear in a black cloudless sky.  The very same stars that all the generations before us have gazed upon, hoped upon, wished upon.  

     I wondered about some of the constellations, their names and their meanings.  Something pulled at my heart strings.  All these years and I can only name a couple of the star designs.  Such a waste.  Spending years scurrying around, being busy, running the rat race and never taking the time to know more than the Big and Little Dipper. 

     This made me remember a story.  Satan was talking to a man and told him he would give the man all the ground he could cover by the end of the day.  Satan waved his hand out towards a vast landscape and smiled.  The man began to run.  He ran all day, covering miles and miles of ground.  While he ran, he thought of all the wonderful things he would have.  He would be wealthy, he would be proud, he would be admired by many people, he would be like a king.

     As the sun was setting, the man was making his way back to where Satan stood waiting.  By this time, the man could barely walk, but he struggled forward, thinking of all the good fortune that would soon be his.  Satan smiled at the man.  The man took one more step to reach his starting point and fell over dead.  Satan looked down at the dead man and said, "And there you have it, all the ground you can cover by the end of the day."

     The last bloom on the orchid is laying on the floor.  It is almost symbolic, an ending.  But, with every ending, there is a new beginning.  I look out the window, the sun is rising on a new day, as it has done since the dawn of creation and as it will continue to do until the end of time.  Shall I use this foolish measurement of time to think about yesterday?  What earthly good does that do? 

     We can only take with us the things we did, not what we accumulated.  We can live out our wildest dreams or we can cower in fear and self doubt.

    Let us not be our biggest obstacle.