Our lives are spawned from nothingness.

In an instant we are flesh and blood.

No memories of times past, as none existed.

Thrust into a world not of our choosing.

The journey begins.

Faint memories of infancy shrouded behind misty clouds.

Our minds struggle to recall our first glimpse of being.

Perhaps the warmth of a mother’s touch can be recalled.

And then again, perhaps it cannot, we are never sure.

Looking back we see what we hope to be true.

The journey continues.

Our minds and bodies grow in leaps and bounds.

Others like us now exist in our mind’s eye.

We sense pain and joy for the first time.

We view all that surrounds us in awe.

A puppy’s lick brings forth sounds of laughter.

We are now aware that we are alive.

The journey continues.

Words form in our brain, first steps are taken.

Family is recognized and love is born within us.  

We bond with siblings and yet compete for attention.

Right and wrong are taught and we now face choices.

We are thrust into the outside world as formal learning begins.

The lesson of coexistence must be mastered if we are to survive.

The journey continues.

Schooling is long and tiresome but also a time of kinship.

Childhood friends are made, some to last for years to come.

We learn of other worlds much different than our own.

Those of different skin color, language and customs.

Teachers become heroes never to be forgotten.

Years pass and our youth is good times, graduation and first love.

The journey continues.

The pace of life accelerates and responsibilities abound

We must make our own way in a world not always friendly

We marry and before long new lives are in our care

Struggles never envisioned both burden and strengthen us

We forge ahead because we have no choice

We look in the mirror and see the new person we have become

The journey continues

Children have married. Grandchildren are born. New journeys begun

Years of hoping and planning seem endless as time passes

Children grow, parents are lost, and friends begin to age

The world around us seems chaotic, filled with greed and uncaring

We look to God for answers with only silence as a response

News of friends passing and memorials become all too routine

The journey continues

We enter a period of nostalgia looking back at our lives

Wondering where the time went; wondering what else we could have done

We look at our spouse, we touch, and we cherish the moment

We think of what lies beyond this life

We ponder the issues of whether God has a plan for us

Or whether we will return to the nothingness of before our birth

We look skyward one last time at the wonder of the universe, and hope

The journey’s end is in sight

©Copyright 2007 Charlie Gragg