The American Writer Kurt Vonnegut once wrote and I quote, “The very edge of anything from a rivulet to an ocean says to me: now you know where you are. Now you know which way to go. You soon will be home now.” As I journey from my winter retreat in Arizona back to my home on the lake in Crosslake Minnesota those words ring in the back of my mind. For its there at that water’s edge where I find some semblance of that elusive peace, we all long for.
For its in those waters that I fished and swam, and where my grandchildren frolicked when they were young. Where my wife and I sat in the waning light of a warm summer’s day, watching the sun slip behind the hills across the lake. Painting the sky red and yellow and reflecting its work of art in the placid waters, so we could enjoy it in two dimensions, above and below. We sat there until the world became dark once more and then as if a shade had been pulled, we could see no more. Then a breeze came up and we just listened to the waves breaking softly on the sandy shore behind us and we knew that this was as close to peace as we would ever get.
Several years ago, a neighbor down the shoreline a spell was in the last days of his life. His words to his caregivers at that time was, “Take me to the cabin and turn my bed so I can see the lake.” That’s the last thing he wanted to see on this earthly journey and I know in my heart just how he felt. I feel so blessed that I have had this opportunity to live where I live.
Sometimes on a warm summer evening I like to get in the boat and just putt along the shoreline. Its a time when the lake is deserted, the speed boats and water toys are put away. You hear laughter and voices around the campfires and you see the happy faces reflected in the flickering flames as you pass by. The lonely wail of a Loon somewhere out on the waters and a splash as a bass takes a water bug from the surface. Of all the beautiful music that has been written, now is not the time for it. Mother nature is entertaining you with her own composition written in the key of peacefulness.
What is so compelling about this whole scene, is when you realize that this has gone on forever. That countless souls have found comfort here at the water’s edge from time and memorial. That this might be your Shangri-La tonight but it has often been an earthly paradise for so many souls who proceeded you. They probably never found the words to express what it meant to them when it happened because even as a writer, I struggle to find them now and maybe they haven’t even been coined yet.
Then you ask yourself how do I perpetuate this, so others may find their peace at the water’s edge too? We all deserve to feel this way, now and in the future. Life has evolved in immeasurable ways, some good and some bad. Mother nature has given us this gift and we can grasp it and save it or we can destroy it. But in the end when all is said and done, no matter what we choose, this world will carry on and it will heal itself and the only losers will be the ones who thought they knew better than the creator of this magic world we live in. As for me I can’t wait to get home.
No comments:
Post a Comment