Wellbuddies Reflections

It is the Solstice.  Sunlight reigns dominant this one day before gradually yielding to darkness.  A friend has often told me she is sad on the longest day.  As a sun lover, she feels the turning point with pain.  I have never seen it that way.  Today is, for me, the beginning of summer.  Snow is melting off the passes, flowers are blooming, rivers and spirits are running high.  My mood is on the upswing.

Over the past week, I have grown to appreciate my friend's perspective from a different angle.  I was tested for two unrelated health issues.  Neither of the results is reassuring.  Both point to a future that will probably change the way I enjoy life.   Neither of the results is urgent; both are cautionary.  Nothing changed the way I feel physically. The change is in my mind and heart.

Those test results are a type of turning point, like the summer solstice.   They point to unwelcome changes and signify aging and mortality.  They call for attention and adjustment.  They do not, however, mean I must forsake the healthy joy I have today.  I can choose to prematurely grieve a future loss or to live fully with gratitude for every moment on its own terms.  I am still working on it!

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How do the dynamics of present and future play out for you?  Do you fret over what might happen,  or do you celebrate the present as a gift and let the future unfold when and as it will?