hand in hand

 

today i saw something special.. which leads me to this question.

what is  . .  .             love?

is it the words of a lover?

“i love you”.. or.. “..i will forever love you…”

spoken passionately in desire.. or softly whispered in the ear. 

is it the pungeant perfume in the spring air heightening the senses and fulfilling life’s promises.

or the handsome man or stunning woman that quickens your heart.. slowing down time.. your hands unsure and mind in doubt.

can you feel it?  how does it feel?  do we really understand it?  deserve it?  we yearn for this idea we call love..yet are cheaply satiated with.. other lesser substitutes.  therefore.. are our own yearnings sincere..? furthermore, can we claim to be?

is it the breeze in the wind.. the stars in the sky.. the grass in the field.. birds in the air.. bond of a mother.. embrace of a child.. the slow kiss.. union of flesh…

is it the mournful song..

does it fade like the waning sky..  or persist like the tides of the oceans…

what is lost love?  what happens to the love that was once shared?

does it go to the lover’s cemetery.. buried, kept hidden, forgotten. 

what is love?

today.  . .  i witnessed it.

it was stunning.. like a revelation from eternity, God shifted the universe and time to reveal a window of passing..a sight for my eyes to lay upon and understand.  Today my heart cherished something precious and I grew again.  Through this sight.. I am a better man.

Rarely does something so subtle impact my life.. going to the core of my being.

On a calm breezy day.. there was a handsome old man and woman.. walking hand in hand.

i stood for a couple of seconds still and quiet.. letting this moment and sight sink into my soul.  I studied the vision before me.. a man of many years.. his back arched and sunken from the weight of countless untold struggles.. clean dressed and obsolete of the worries of the young.  Grace given in old age.. his hand outstretched to grasp his wife.  His soul-mate and his lover.  Once young and passionate they held each other through countless nights..countless ordeals and struggles.  Heart-ache and pain those hands embraced..hand in hand.. together and strong.  I could imagine a vibrant life long ago.  A woman without wrinkles..once gorgeous and graceful in a lazy summers dress..the center of attention with numerous prospects.  Her hair long and glimmering, lightly perfumed she would capture the hearts of many.. yet only choose one.  Her husband, tall, strong, vibrant and easy going in his demeanor.  Charissmatic and charming.. a bull in his prime.  One fateful day..he would fall in love with his beauty.. dedicating his life for their future.  Throughout the years.. I imagined her looks slowly waning.. the make-up applied to cover the emerging wrinkles..hair a little shorter and dress more modest. 

 The pursuers now gone, admirers vanished to a new generation with toddlers about and a new life.  Finally, at a ripened old age.. beauty long vanished along with the jubilence of youth a memory.  He would still lay beside her in their bed…alone in the world except for their love.. and whisper in her ear just as passionately as countless days ago how beautiful she truly is.  Softly and powerfully he would convey how much he loved this woman and perhaps nudge her to a fit of laughter.. easing the aches and burdens of long life.  I gazed at this man and woman.. and realized without doubt this old wary couple could very well be the two most radiant individuals to grace my eyes in many years. 

I wanted to share this amazing sight.. to grab hands and point for other eyes to witness this soulful spectacle.. brief and gone like a streaking meteor in the night sky.  I wanted to go to them.. shake their tired wrinkly hands.  Ask them to impart their wisdom and understanding into my heart.. see their struggle and believe in their passion.   to feel their pain.. their loss..to partake of something so special.  Cry with their triumph. . congratulating them for overcoming the world that so desperately humiliates the strong and weak alike.. stealing the souls of the innocent and rejoicing at our failures.  A world where countless lovers of enduring passion.. of bright futures and golden tomorrows were cut short.. a lesser love .. without the strength to endure and stolen from the woes of broken promises. 

Most importantly,  I felt through this couple…

through this wrinkled, earnest old man and woman…

a committment so pure and sincere it transformed its inhabitants into something more than human.. like the Greeks who wisely said wisdom is gained through suffering.  this couple of many years demonstrated in one simple graceful motion all of the potential man-kind could exhibit.  They exemplified the perserverance of the human spirit, the deep dedication that is seen through.. 

 In one act, he demonstrated all that I could be, should be, will be… a vision one day I will tread in his shoes with a life-time of memories and love to contemplate, ambering along ever so slowly.. eternity in my grasp. 

Out of respect.. i stood quietly and said nothing.

I stood motionless for many minutes watching them. .until finally they were before me.   

Then I took a picture.

Without them noticing, they continued in their journey, slow and without hurry, into the distant horizon and into my soul and memory forever.