Passing the Baton

BANG! And the race begins. Not a race to a finish line somewhere, but to one sometime. It's not a race that anyone wants to finish in a hurry. No running is required - just persevering. There are no victors - only survivors. But the scenery is unbelievably glorious, the companionship is deeply nourishing and the potential for growth is immeasurable.

Whether we realize it or not, we carry a baton with us from end to end in this odyssey. One that, by natural law, we'll pass on at the end of our race - just as it was handed to us in our pre-infancy. Of course, we don't actually own our batons any more than water molecules own the waves that pass through them.

As we roll along, our batons absorb the essence of both, the lessons we learn, and those we ignore. They record all of our relations, aspirations and interpretations. Our moods and thoughts are etched into their flesh. Through this process, the quality that they had when we received them changes continuously throughout the race. And our cumulative affects on them determine how they will resonate when we hand them off, as we break the tape.

The batons we carry greatly influence who and how we are. As they will the next, in this eternal relay. We may not be able to change how our batons are, immediately, but we are responsible for how we influence them. And we can choose how they mature and how weighty they are when we pass them along.

Of course, this takes more than proclaiming a desire to do so. Continually refining one's intention is the means of directing its development. And the results are commensurate with the diligence, attention and effort applied, over the course of a lifetime.

There's no obligation. Evolution happens on its own. But we are uniquely capable of deliberately re-forming our own batons. And for some, it's uplifting to respectfully consider the future recipients of this life's actions and attitudes.