We all know life has it’s “ups” and “downs.” For those of you who don’t know me, patience is NOT my forte. But as I’ve left The Rat Race behind, I find I have more time to contemplate life — as fewer people are counting on me to accomplish things in timelines controlled by yet others. With very few exceptions (the wife, the warden, etc.) I control my timelines, deadlines, and that makes Life After The Rat Race more tolerable.
Today an apt illustration revealed itself to me — balance is everything.
Today our side of Terceira started with a windy, cold, rainy day. I say “our side” because, as I have known for years here, the south side of the island can be perfectly sunny and warm while the east side (where I’m writing this) is windy and downright chilly. I awoke to a “yucky day.”
We spent the day running errands, getting to know the new roads, traffic laws, vehicle, etc. and then we drove to the Serra Do Cume, a high mountain above our place. Wet cobblestones and ancient potholes made me really appreciate the new truck, and the high mountain road (singular, there is only one) looking out over green fields hedged by stone walls and cows and burros grazing was tranquil. Peaceful. Idyllic. (Forgive my style, Vince….:) and I thought “this is what life is like after The Rat Race. The warden (wonderful wife) sitting next to me agreed:)
Then it hit me. No, not lightening. Not a falling rock. The realization that I needed balance. The sun poked through and a rainbow arched out of the sky. We actually saw several on our drive. We’ve seen many rainbows in our lives, personally I’ve enjoyed rainbows on nearly every continent in nearly every environment. But this wasn’t just “a rainbow,” this was an enchanting rainbow. This rainbow I could reach out and touch. This rainbow was a perfect arch, with a perfect spectrum of colors, and perfect density, right outside my windshield. I didn’t even pull over to take a photo or video…none would do it justice. Digits can’t capture the magic of this rainbow. This rainbow brought a feeling of grace.
The balance I realized is that rainy wet weather, high winds, cobblestone mountain roads with one lane and potholes, are sometimes not very inviting, but the same crummy weather brings rainbows.
Life after The Rat Race is gratifying. You get some things and you lose some things. But to balance the gains and losses takes time, patience, and introspection. When you think about what you left behind, remember, one of the things you have gained is the time to think about what you left behind…and time is truly one of the gifts we have to cherish!