The Other Side of The River

… I have always looked from afar, it seemed like a long long distance away. I could hardly see anything from where I stood. To be honest I could not see anything, but I knew it was somewhere over there. I know it is there because I have met people that have been and they told me about the river. I heard their story but I doubt I fully comprehended it. But it didn’t really matter because one day I will get to the river. I have been told it is a straight line to get there and we are all moving in the same direction, some of us nearer than other. Well, I didn’t give it much thought as I was a long long way away. My arrival will happen sometime in the very very faaaarrrrr future. I made no preparation for going in or on the river, neither did I prepare for coming out of the river on the other side. Everything was too far away. But was it really as far away as I thought?

Then one morning, without any warning, I woke up and I was right in the middle of the river! How did this happen? How come there was no warning, no signs? The river is meant to be far far away! Have I been tricked? Maybe the river has always been much nearer than I was told. The truth is, I was never tricked and there were warnings, but somehow I ignored them. In shock I wadded through the river, totally bemused and confused. It was a short stint in the river and I was out, almost as if it never happened. Before I knew it, I had become an ‘after the river’ person. I so was not ready for this title, the river was one of the main defining description of a person, you were either a ‘before the river ‘ or an ‘after the river’ person.

In bemusement I wonder around the ‘after the river’ space. What a sloppy and slippery terrain it is! It is downwards! Prior to the river, we were all going up, now we are all going down, some just cruise all the way down, simply by doing nothing, to navigate the terrain with grace and composure, support and stability is required, fall protection needs to be in place. Like a seasoned mountain climber the gear needs to be in place, the harness, helmet, ropes, axe, crampton, poles etc. Some arrive fully geared up, others arrive empty handed and wonder why the journey is difficult.

Aging is very similar, we all reach ‘the age’, that is ‘the river’ after that it is a slippery and sloppy descend, we do well to have our gear in place at this stage of our life. We need our poles to stabilise us, we need our harness, our helmet. We need our faith, our spirituality, we need to know who we serve, who our creator is, how we got to be where we are, our health we must pay attention to, we no longer have the luxury of living any how, eating any how, not exercising, this is the other side of the river, to stand we must attend to matters of our health. Our mind we must cater to, we must protect, put on our helmet, exercise our brains, read, apply ourself to mental stimulating pursuits, our house we must start putting in order, we must learn to travel light on the other side of the river, excess weight will take us down speedily. We must be discerning and rid ourselves of things that no longer serve us, we have limited space as we make our descent, we must consider our relationships, we can not be unequally yoked, each step will be uneven and dangerous, taking us down. The manners, attitude and lifestyle of before the river does not work after the river. We all need to understand we are now in a different space.

There are great exploits to be done after the river, cities to be conquered, beasts to be slained, nations to be won, dreams to be fulfilled, goals to be accomplished etc but all must be done with consciousness, the time is truly short. We got to the river quicker than we thought, the end of the journey is even nearer.

The other side of the river is a great place to be, a land of opportunity, of maturity, of wisdom and exploits, however to accomplish we need stability and support. Like a seasoned mountain climber we do well to be geared up.

Enjoy the space!