A few days ago, I proposed to my mother to go to Athens for a weekend in March. For 9 years, since my father passed away, I’ve been trying to take her to a different country at least once a year. This time, however, she refused telling me that it is hard for her, that she does not want to go anymore, that her legs hurt and so on. Her health it is not the same as 9 years ago; from what I have seen in my father and mother, we humans at some point reach a ‘tipping point’. Beyond this point our energy and mobility is different, and various diseases, either big or the kind that eat away at you, start to make their appearance. When autumn falls upon us, we try to shelter ourselves, to be more cautious as if the cold hurt us, or the rain and wind bent us and so the darkness limits our aspirations, wishes and energy. The Autumn comes into our lives at some point. And somewhere, far away we know that winter will come too.
To have something to think about during the autumn and winter of our lives, it is a good thing to go through experiences, to travel, to read, to put our mind to work, to meet people, to see places, to buy what gives us pleasure, to make our loved ones happy, to eat anything that inspires us, to love, to be loved, to create those types of breath-taking moments. Such a moment for me was when I went skydiving. And as such I think that we should have similar moments in different contexts, to metaphorically go skydiving multiple times.
And so, the autumn and winter of our lives will have enough memories to delight those around us and above all else will make our soul happy and our eyes shine as was the case when we experienced those moments.
P.S. We are going to Athens.