Contemplating the total solar eclipse that will be visible across a wide swath of the continental United States next week , I kept imagining how awe inspiring and terrifying an event like this would have seemed to ancient people. Even for those of us who know the eclipse is coming and how to safely view it; we can't really know what we will feel to witness such an unusual event.
Feels like imagining one's old age. There are so many variables for all of us and no one knows how it will play out. We can take care with exercise, good eating and sleep habits. We can learn new things, read, create and listen to music and stay close to our family and friends. Even so genes play a part in aging that we can't control (at least not yet) as well as where you grew up and how you behaved up until reaching old age.
Reminds me of what they told me when I was pregnant for the first time: have a plan for the birth and be willing to abandon the plan. When it comes to aging we should go with the prenatal notion: preparedness matters, but, just as much, flexibility matters.
Here is Emily Perl Kingsley's magnificent essay
written about having a disabled child, this can be about any unexpected -not the way we planned it -moment in life. Don't let the fact that things didn't go as planned eclipse the sun, it is still shining there and will be revealed again soon.
Kim McLeod
