Going Slow in life!

During my morning travel to the hospital, I have often noticed this senior citizen on his morning walk. I resisted  taking his photograph for several months, but yesterday, I consented to my inner prompting. 

I noticed a road sign on the side of the road, 'GO SLOW' as the road was leading to a slope and a turn with poor visibility from a distance. 

Just after the curve on the road on the right side, a Musandea plant was hanging its branches outside the boundary wall of a house. 

It is this sight the senior citizen would meet while on his walk. As I watched him take the turn and move on, it was cloudy and threatening to rain. 

While driving to work, this sight stayed with me. 

I am only a few years away, when I too have to walk slow, may be aided and accept the limitations of ageing. 

Is that my focus or something else!

The plant with full of blossoms come to me as a symbol to celebrate life even when the physical limitations set in. To greet the advancing age with such a feeling of gladness and fulfilment is inspirational. As we keep moving on in life, what anchors us is the joy of life thus far lived and the hope of living in the joy of a life till the last!

As I continued thinking on this theme of advancing age in life, I remembered spotting a custard apple almost ready to pluck, in our garden in the morning. Each custard apple would have several seeds, which have the prospects of becoming  seedlings when planted in the soil. 

Each life well lived, would have sown several seeds for the benefit of others. 

Ageing is not a season to slip into sadness or sense of helplessness, but a season to be jubilant and grateful!

With every step which the senior citizen took on his walk aided by his walking stick, he was affirming the resolve to live well inspite of his limitations. He exercised to walk because he looks forward to more days of wellness and gladness. Of course what greeted him each day in his walk was the blossoms in the plant on his way!

Life of a senior citizen can  be abundant and not redundant!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)