Age has no reality...

Age has no reality except in the physical world. 

The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. 

Our inner lives are eternal, 

which is to say that our spirits remain 

as youthful and vigorous 

as when we were in full bloom. 

Think of love as a state of grace, 

not the means to anything, 

but the alpha and omega. 

An end in itself. 

~Gabriel Garcia Marquez, from Love in the Time of Cholera 

Poor  Zelda was stuck with a tax-tired me for the after breakfast walk. We were going to head to the clay for a bit and move a few mugs along (they were thrown and trimmed and needed a last touch before heading to the bisque kiln). We were also to see if she and SP's companion, Chowder, would be friends. 

At the park we heard a voice, my neighbor was working her flowerbeds. We talked for a while - plans for a festival and more. Then she gave me a small tree - orchid (?).

Then we headed to the clay - worked on some reclaimed clay and glazed a number of pieces. Glazing is always a challenge for me, but this went smoothly. We will see how the work progresses.

[Chowder and Zelda got along great - lots of racing around and such. But there was a little too much dog energy - a distraction from the work.]

I am 61 today.

It's just a number.

But any anniversary provides a good time to reflect as did this one:

    Am I where I want to be?
    Am I doing what I want to be doing?
    Who am I spending my time with? Who do I want to spend my time with?
    What am I giving back? Is it enough?
    How can I live more simply?  More peacefully?
    Are these even the right questions?

I keep telling myself (and others - I gotta stop that) that I can "do the math." I am well past middle-aged (and my very amateur and slipshod genealogy work shows our genes are not indicators of too many more healthy years). So there is no time to waste.

Some tell me I do too much (I do admit that I have been known to double and triple book my time), but I'm not willing to miss opportunities. And I know that, eventually, I will not have the strength, energy, or desire to be throwing clay, hiking the hills, and chasing after dogs.

I have stopped saying "there's time enough for that."

There is today. There is now.

Enjoying the now.