THE HEAVINESS OF AGE (continued)

Experimaental pastel #5 aprox 12x18 $300

Dreams and aspirations.
Following the dream and taking risks. I know something about this. At age 39 I decided to leave my private medical practice and work part time in an emergency room so I could pursue a career in art (I had no formal training). At age 53 I opened a medical practice in a converted barn on our farm, and at age 62 moved 950 miles away from family and friends to Paducah Kentucky to be one of the first artists to sign up for their artist relocation program. I made each of these decisions, and many others, without fear or trepidation because I was confident that they were the steps intended for me...I knew that as much as one can know something.

But now, six years later, when I think about these moves I wonder, could I do that today? Does our spirit respond to age the way our bones and joints do? Does it tend to get a little slow and more inclined to remain comfortable and secure rather than jump ahead into the unknown. The earlier decisions were made knowing there was the security of the “somedays” to fall back on if needed. As previously noted, they are only a shadow of their formal selves now.

However, once again there is another component to this issue. Although taking risks to pursue dreams becomes more difficult and perhaps more stressful, there is a new resource now available thanks to the years... experience, and, if we pay attention to our past, experience brings us another resource...wisdom. Together they can help guide us through the transitions and changes faced in these later years. We are better equipped to assess risks and have a more realistic notion of the consequences of our actions. Perhaps my spirit and my personal aspirations have been buffered a bit by the years, but they remain intact, and I strive toward them a bit slower, with deliberation and determination that these same years have provided.