Subtle Changes

The morning meal, shared with a musician friend, we shared memories of past experiences playing together, thoughts and ideas about present experiences playing with the musicians we play with now. Time spent noticing the changes, subtle as they are, over the years, time spent excited about what is yet to be done and the Inspiration and Strength that makes it all possible.

Morning break spent with a friend who has had so many changes in her life in just one year, the changes are subtle, but she feels them. So many prayers we have prayed together.

The noon meal over a salad bar with a wonderful Aunt who has always shown such love to me and for whom I feel such love. I shared how she seems to never change, she shared how she feels the changes from within. I know what she means, they're subtle~and sometimes not so subtle, but we feel them. We both noticed how our attitudes have a great influence over how our bodies feel. Isn't it odd how much greater the changes feel when we are worried, afraid or just plain angry about things.

Afternoon break with a young mother with whom we laughed and played only a few short years ago...before so many changes, before the children filled her life and Mother C filled ours. Subtle changes to our routines, but we notice.

The evening meal with my sweetie and Mother C. Subtle changes there after the 7 short years we have shared meals together, subtle, but they add up. Every time I see her, Mother C says "I'm sure tired today, I don't know why I'm so tired" and "I'm really crippled up tonight" and "I'll get there, kids".

We feel like there will always be a tomorrow, but there won't be, at least not here on earth. The subtle changes are evident, they add up. But if we stop to look and see the beautiful colors, the lines, the textures of each day, we see it, we remember that today is the most important day of our lives. Listen to the laughter, the slow breathing, in and out, of a sleeping child or even the dog, just listen. Listen to the tick of the clock and the sound the birds make when they land in the branches of a tree or a bush. Be thankful, very very thankful for each sound, each sight, each feeling, knowing that the moment we are living now will never be lived again. Tomorrows moments won't be today's. Today's are not yesterday's. Make the decisions that tug at your heart every day. The ones that tell you you need to listen and that your life really matters, it was given to you for a purpose. Dreams aren't for tomorrow, they are to be lived and shared and sometimes put aside for a greater purpose, but they never come true sitting on a shelf, with a collection of unfinished business. Lighten the load, become more mobile, more agile, more open, filled with more courage today...now. The changes will come, they will be subtle, but they will come no matter how diligently they are ignored, they come.