Merely Mortal

Photo by Flo Maderebner on Pexels.com

I am merely mortal.

I am a passing ship, floating on calm waters, slowly disappearing into the horizon. Perhaps, I’ve carried you a time or two, held your hand, smiled gently, filling the spaces inside of you that are often vacuous.

I am a mystery and riddle that remains eternally unsolved and the layers of cyclic history that is often left unresolved, left here to unravel over time, slowly.

I’m the life that has slipped into skin, endlessly discovering where I begin and end, using my senses to make sense of this space and sojourn.

I’d like to stay, but it was never designed that way.

I am merely mortal.

I’m nearly 49 and feel the sands of time, slipping, effortlessly, steadily, through the neck of the hourglass. It will pass.

It will pass.

I will as well.

I long to taste more, devouring earthly delights, more slowly than before, mindfully with intention. The produce, freshly picked and gently rinsed. My tastebuds awakened to exquisite meals, tasting the rich culture of each culinary endeavor, acknowledging the effort and care granted to each experience.

I would love to fall in love with people again, seeing others captured in a still life photograph, in great detail, picking up the subtleties that make us human. I would like to find my childhood innocence and view people and situations in earnest curiosity and wonderment.

I’d like to lose myself in laughter, titling my head back, twirling under the stars by moonlight. While other times I’d like to sit quietly, listening to the cicadas effortlessly sing their song.

I want to feel the humidity of the Southland engulfing me, beckoning me to take a swim at dusk in a nearby lake, accompanied by crackling campfire.

I’d would love to drive down long stretches of endless backroads at night with someone special by my side, windows rolled down, warm breeze, and blaring music.

And yet, I am merely mortal.

And time doesn’t stop.

I unfortunately fell asleep, as many of us do.

I became wrapped up in what I expected, instead of what actually is.

I don’t regret what I have learned.

I long to live more, and think less, let go, and release.

I am merely mortal.

This will all pass.

And so will I.

It is time to live with more intention and less fear, forgetting the layers that once entrapped and defined me.

I feel an edge of freedom and mystery within me.

I won’t limit myself anymore.

Endless discovery awaits.

I am merely mortal.

And when I fly away, free from my final day, I will do so in fullness.

Soaring endless skies, completely unattached, at one with all I have known.

I’ll slip out of my skin and perhaps I’ll begin again.

And thus, this beautiful cycle of life continues.