I think most people come to a place in their lives when things are taken away from them. Not so much by other people, but simply by the aging process. Driving is more difficult, energy levels drop, perhaps it is noting that the mind works differently and on some occasions not very well. It is really impossible to cling, because it is gone (whatever it is) before it is noticed. Attitude towards this development is important and I would suppose ones view of life also helps how old age is either embraced or resented. I am of course writing about myself, it is beginning for me, old age, though I have been at this point for perhaps three or four years. Health problems are increasing and it is a wonder how easy it is to get sick! To fight, or to let go, or not the only two options. Perhaps to accept and to do what can be done gently is the best way, or perhaps it is the best way for me. Faith is not about ‘pie in the sky’, no, it is about understanding that there is one life and what we do here is in some way a preparation for what is to come. So the pains and frustrations of aging can be a spur to patience, leading to making conscious choices about letting go of ways of doing and being that did not work in the past, and will certainly not work now.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
