“ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
through the mist
I got up at 5:30 one morning recently so that I could walk and clear my head before sitting down to study. It was a beautiful, foggy morning and I was alone with my dog Jake. As we went down to the beach near my home, a figure walking his 3 dogs materialized through the mist. I had been completely unaware of his presence, but it was nice to know someone was walking through this fog too. I haven’t seen anyone in person other than my lockdown family for weeks- unless you include the strange supermarket trips where everyone hurries to get out as fast as possible and we are afraid of contact with each other.
The mist provided a kind of ethereal barrier, the lone figure and I did not approach one another but a muffled hello echoed through the haze; surprisingly, even the dogs kept close to their masters. I think this image speaks to the situation we all find ourselves in. The familiar still surrounds us but is veiled; we can only see the way directly in front of us, literally the day ahead. The physical space outside is emptied of people…and yet, we connect from a distance with someone appearing as if out of a mist. Life is out there!
The sun is rising however, like a vapour the haze will vanish in its heat, if not today, or tomorrow, then another day soon. We dwell in a world of seasons, it can never be continual summer, just as surely as winter must yield to spring.
