Ethyl Reflects: Life Lessons

It's been said we should try to learn from the mistakes of others because we won't have time to make all the same mistakes ourselves.   And I think there is a lot of wisdom in that statement.  For our lives are indeed short in comparison to so many other things on earth.  A turtle that has no grasp of mathematics or science, but acts purely on instinct, can live up to two hundred years.  A tree, the giant sequoia, has been known to live a few thousand.  Man, on the other hand, is limited to a mere seventy or eighty years on average.  So we are going to have a relatively short time in  our lives to make decisions, plans, mistakes, and friendships.
When we are young there is a great need to be accepted, so often we chose our friends from those who are sought out by the vast majority, and we feel it is a great privilege to be acknowledged by such lofty ones.  The most popular students in high school got that way for a reason.  Everyone wanted to be friends with them simply because they were prominent and by being close to them  the less noticed could indirectly share some of that prestige..They could be total snobs, dumb as a rock, and totally lacking in moral fiber, but if they happened to be on the 'in' list, everyone sought their favor. 
A psalmist prayed, 'Oh, teach us how our days to number that we may bring a heart of wisdom in'.  We are wise if- when we reach the point in our lives where we begin to see we have a limited number of days- we began to be much more selective in our choice of companions..   Gone are the pursuits of younger days.  We begin to look for quality, not quantity, and for persons from whom we can learn and grow.
In reflection, I find that I have a lot to be thankful for, for I have been blessed with people who have been wise and experienced,  from whom I have learned and by so doing have avoided major pitfalls and potholes that I otherwise might have fallen into.  Life lessons, that when taken to heart, have helped me grow and mature and become a much, hopefully, wiser and kinder person.
It's amazing to me how much our lives mimic the seasons.  Spring is fresh and new, alive with new energy and growth.  Summer is adulthood , fruit bearing, and productive.  Autumn is mature, the end of years of hard work and productive activity.  Ripening of our mind.  The time in our life when we come to terms with our mortality, and the realization we will not be going back to the spring or summer but only forward into winter.  In many ways this is the best season of all.  We are mature.  The grain is ripened and our minds, like the storehouses of the farmer, are full of experience and wisdom.  The time when in many cases the years of work have paid off and we have time and still a sufficient amount of energy to go and do and experience what was denied us in our youth because of a lack of either time or money.  Aah!  then winter.  The time when the days grow shorter and fly much faster.  The time when it's harder to get out and about and takes so much more effort to go anywhere or do anything.  The maturity of the mind is offset by the feebleness of the body, and then in the end, as King Solomon described it, 'the days have arrived when we will say we have no delight in them'. 
As I write this I realize I am still in the autumn of my life, and I am so thankful for the ones who have helped me grow to this point.  Over the years on reflection I realize that the majority of my friends, the ones I love and trust the most, have been older than me.  Anywhere from seven to fifteen years older.  And now as I age so do they, and I am faced with the sadness of seeing them lose physical stamina and mental agility, in the same way I am losing it each day.  But I am so thankful they have been a part of my life and they have seen fit to include me, because from them I have learned so much about life and what it takes to be truly happy. 
Will I advance from autumn into winter.  There is no way of knowing.  But I am so thankful that I have been permitted to live long enough to avoid dying young.  I have been allowed to raise my children myself and that task has not been left to others, for I know in my heart no one would have ever loved them in the same way or to the same degree I have.  Am I apprehensive about the coming winter.  Yes.  Just like the season itself, we never know what it will bring.  Will there be blizzards and ice storms and damage to structures and such or will we progress into and out of the season for the most part unscathed.  Who knows.  We will just have to wait and see.  But for now it is good to still be here and to have those we hold so close to our hearts here with us.  Each day is a gift.  That's why we call it the present.  And the best way to appreciate any gift is to  use it well and be truly thankful for it.