Ready or Not

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Amazing, isn’t it, how children’s games, played with a light heart, are about practicing for the pith of life?

Cover your eyes.  Count to a hundred.  Don’t peek!

When you look out again, everything will have changed.  And, it is your job to muster the courage to peer around corners, under bushes, and behind the shed to find everybody again.  To chase them home, and tag someone else.  Because it wouldn’t be fair to always be the one facing the unknown.

So we practice and we play.  Sometimes instigating the startle.  Sometimes receiving it.  But, over and over, getting the hang of the game.  And getting a few rules under our belts.  1.)  Play fair.  2.)  Don’t scare yourself to death with your own fantasies.  3.)  Dig deep for courage.

The reward?  We’re part of it, of course.  The game.  The world.  This wild, unmanageable, sometimes dull, sometimes terrifying event called Life.  Not only are we each part of it.  We’re each instrumental.  No one knows how to do my part but me.  No one could possibly do your part but you.

This photo of autumn seed pods against the sparkling late summer leaves demonstrates what is about to blur and what is coming into sharp focus.  Indian Summer.  Harbinger of Autumn.  Time to run and play until dark.  Time to gather courage for whatever is next.

Oh, and remember to have fun.  If you dare.