Letters Home: Section 1, Letter dated August 29

August 29
Katrina,



There is a storm this morning, Sister dear, a storm that preaches to me of time, of promise, preaching of the importance of time and the gift of each moment. Humans often take for granted the moments we are given, choosing, unwisely as it were, not to cherish them, not to worship them as the precious treasure that they are, these gifts that are easily lost never to be reclaimed.



Do we ever learn? What are people waiting on? Each day, we wait. Nearly every day people listen to or read inspirational stories of success and accomplishment, grand feats performed by someone admired, and wonder why it hasn’t happened to them. Often, we encounter stories of near-death experiences which encouraged the survivors to make changes in their lives that they had been delaying, stories from people who decided to chase their dreams after losing loved ones unexpectedly, stories of people who traveled through difficult life experiences to find that the journey provided encouragement to live.



And, after releasing a sigh of such a beautiful example of life and contemplating how wonderful it would be if certain changes occurred in our own lives, we continue to wait. We say to ourselves that we’ll make a change we’d like to see in our lives in the future, when the time is right, when there’s not so much else to do, and when we feel that the people around us will morally support us instead of laughing. After all, people tend to think that change can only occur to, that dreams only come true for, and that the lottery is ever won by strangers, someone down the street, across town, or in another state, but never to anyone close to us. Thinking that we have as much opportunity as another requires self-confidence, self-respect, hope, and faith in ourselves.



But, we’re wrong in thinking it can’t happen to us. The lottery winner has family, the dreamer has friends, and everyone is known to someone. We all have the capacity to change, the ability to improve, to have our dreams come true. And, the secret to real success is being unafraid to face our fears, to challenge our limits, to test our strength, and to risk the experience of failure from time to time. If we wait to try, time may run out and take with it our opportunity. If we take a chance, even if we fail, we’ll always know in our hearts that we walked down the path of our choice and followed our desires. But, then, every path is a choice, to follow a dream or to live in despair, and the question is which path will we choose.



So, what are we waiting for? Each day, we wait, playing a game of chance with time, hoping that another second chance will come, hoping that time won’t steal our opportunity and leave us behind. But, time, if we’re willing to listen, can also teach us appreciation, an appreciation of life, of love, of possibility. From time, we can learn that experiences, both positive and negative, have lessons to teach us and advantages to offer, advantages of growth, advantages of hope. From time, we can learn that facing the fear of failure and dealing with negative experiences will only increase the joy of the positive moments. From time, we can learn that each moment is a gift not to be wasted with worry but to be enjoyed with life. Time, in the game of chance, is trying to teach us that waiting will only bring about regrets, but taking the opportunity to grow, to change, to improve will build a life where time is not feared but treasured.



Change doesn’t have to be physical or adventurous or tangible. Change could simply be choosing to see some good in any situation, choosing to seek out the positive in each moment, choosing hope and faith over anything negative, choosing to live a moment for that moment instead of wasting it, giving it to the yesterdays that have passed before we even experience it in the present.



Help me to remember, Sister. Isn’t that the way we were as children? Weren’t we hopeful, happy, willing to see the best in everyone and everything, willing to take a risk, willing to learn, willing to face our fears?



I miss you, Sister, and I spend too much time longing for those childhood days and regretting years that have passed instead of living for each moment in the moment when it occurs. Sometimes, I wonder if there is much else to be done at my age except review the past. But, day by day, I’m learning to focus my thoughts, to choose a positive emotion over the negative. I’m learning how to push away and turn a deaf ear to sorrow, like a daily exorcism that drives out a demon.



Should the storm end and my health hold, I would like to visit you in the next couple of days, Katrina. And, as always, I will bring your favorite flowers, flowers that shall fill the air with the beautiful scent of memories and the newness of now.



Forever,
Christina




This work is fictional. Any resemblance to actual situations or persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional.