Shifting Sands

    A young man went to bed one night.  His whole life was before him.

    The same man woke up the next morning.  He was no longer young.  He was not old, but he was closer to old than young.

    The man wondered what had happened over night.  Yesterday, everything lay before him.  All his dreams and ambitions, all had been achievable, all had been possible yesterday.  His children were young, babies.

    Yet this morning his prime was past?  His joints ached, abuse as a young man.  His back hurt always, one rugby match too many.  He had once been pain free for six hours straight.  That had been a nice day.  That day was…how many years past?  He did not remember, but it had been a nice day. 

    The man knew he would never sail around the world.  He did not regret that.  The man was fairly certain that would not happen when he had married a woman.  She was a nice woman, he liked her.  The man knew she would not want to sail for years at a time.  He did not regret not sailing around the world.  Neither did he regret marrying the woman.

    However, the man knew he would not build a boat.  He had wanted to build a boat since he could remember.  He had wanted to feel his boat alive on the water.  He had wanted to hear his boat laugh as it flew over the water.  He regretted not building a boat.

    The man sat on the end of his bed and thought about his life.  He wondered where his life had gone.  What happened to his life?  His life was not where he had expected it to be.  It was not where it was supposed to be.  The man had achieved a dream, but that had not turned out at all well.  The man knew that sometimes when a goal was achieved and everything was as it should be, life was bad.  The man was pretty sure those were mistakes.

    The man thought about life, he thought about his life.  The man wondered if his life mattered, he wondered if he had done anything of importance.  The man was pretty sure his life had been meaningless.  The man knew that today his prime was past, long past.  The man knew it was too late to achieve anything.  He regretted that.

    The man went to the beach and stood on the bluffs overlooking the ocean.  The sun was shining.  The man felt the warm energy on his face.  The wind was blowing.  The man felt the cool energy on his face.  The man saw the waves.  He wondered how many waves he had missed.  He regretted missing waves.

    The man thought about his children while he stood on the bluff looking at the ocean.  He liked his children.  The man thought they were very good people.  His children had their own lives now.  They were compassionate.  The man’s children were compassionate people.  The man’s children were honest people.  The man thought honest, compassionate people were good people.  The man loved his children.  He did not regret his children.

    The man’s Father was old but he was wise.  The man’s Mother was old but she too was wise.  The man loved his Mother and Father.  He did not regret having them as his parents.

    The man went home and looked at his Wife, “Hello.”  He said to her.

    “Hello," the man’s Wife replied.  She then kissed him.

    The man and his Wife had dinner.  They talked about their day.  They talked about their children and wished they were with them.  They talked about paying the bills.  They talked about loving each other.

    The man asked his Wife if his life meant anything.

    The man’s Wife smiled at him and said, “You've raised a good family, and you’ve made a woman happy.  Is there anything more important than that?”

    The man and his Wife went to bed.  The man thought maybe he had done something.