Life Lessons

The party’s over. It was a success. But the afterglow is fading. I thought it might last longer. But there it goes becoming a thing of the past. Almost in the blink of an eye. Nearly hard to believe. But the wisdom of age knows this is the way of the world and life. Even the brightest of fires, blazing hot enough to melt rock, eventually burns out, trails away into wisps of smoke and disappears. Then a rain falls, a wind blows, the sun shines, a tree grows, and everything starts again.

I can remember other parties, less successful, where I felt I might die of embarrassment. We threw a New Year’s Eve party where one person came. At one in the morning. But we survived. We threw other parties, had better luck, and learned. On an even more granular level, I can remember kisses as a young man that felt like eternal bliss was mine only to have things end in heartbreak. In both cases, I thought the world had ended, but the world surprised me and kept on going.

Again, it’s that age thing. You learn. Good things happen. Bad things happen. You win love. You lose love. You find someone. You lose someone. You throw a party. People come or they don’t. In either case, it’s best to avoid reading too much into either. Celebrate or mourn but keep on going. Because the future, while we’re still alive, is always right around the corner with the chance for another party, another love. Granted, there may be heartbreak and disappointment along the way, but there also may be joy and love. And I’ll deal with the thorns to get a rose now and again.