It is week 11 since a taxi hit me and shut down my summer vacation plans, but the non-negotiable reset button of 8 weeks of pure bed rest and 12 weeks of staying put in a wheelchair with “articulating legs” has allowed me to revise my priorities. I am meditating, mending, and maneuvering with exercises I never dreamed of. And I continue to live in a field of dreams and travel on my chosen path, in search of the perfected Renaissance life.
Outside, the scene rotated between calm and and provocative, cloudy and tearful, and sunny and gray–as I gazed upon the park. I am getting stronger by the day and counting the weeks I must wait to climb the hills of Central Park, once again. Those hills were never so inviting until they were forbidden.
The Nor’easter arrived later in the day than predicted; but I prepared early and stayed with the plan: nine Beethoven symphonies and rotated readings of Chaucer, Friedman, Peter Baker, and the Sunday Times are near at hand and ready for my ears. The decadent world of Andrew Friedman’s “Chef, Drugs and Rock and Roll,” a homage to celebrity chefs from the West Coast, East Coast and the world of le francais amuses, while Canterbury Tales reminds me that classics never get old.
I am feasting on the ever-changing landscape, that could be turned into impressionist masterpieces, but I do not have to wait. They are before my eyes. The torrential rain is accompanying music to my ears. The windy downpour whipped sideways in front of the window; then it stopped as suddenly as it had started; revealing a gentle sky beyond the grandeur of the architecture that outlines the West Side of Manhattan in the high rent district.
Here I am, taking delight in each day’s progress, finding joy and peace in hopping 30 steps–without fear, shimmying sideways through narrow doors, transferring from bed to platform walker to wheelchair, seamlessly. And, I plan to push my limits to put tobogganing, table tennis, and tango on my future dance card. Renewal is a journey.
Our lives can change in an instant. But, as Rudyard Kipling cautions so well–I believe if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs–the ensuing strength will carry you to greater heights than known before. I remain in the game with certitude the best is yet to come. The destination is the product of the journey; made so much easier for me to reach because I am surrounded by treasured friends.
Note, Another rendition of “Renewal” appears at EOLIS.com – CEO Face Time blog.