The Things that Slipped by, A friends FB post got me to thinking about an interesting dynamic that I have noticed. Much of my life and approach to "accomplishment" has been linear, directed, point A to B. Revolving around the idea that a goal is defined and worked towards. No arguing that this is an effective approach, a good way to get "somewhere" or "some thing". But then there are those rare moments, those serendipitous "happenings" that fall out of the sky. Those relationships, experiences, and events that just appear, never even on my radar. The chance meeting and exchange with a new person, the approach by someone proposing a new idea, a unplanned exchange with a stranger, or an old acquaintance who reveals a facet of there personality/thinking never before perceived or revealed. I cherish those unexpected gems of happenstance, but then I wonder how often I blew past those gifts from the universe, so determined to reach my "goal". So as I embrace the inevitable process of ageing, slowing down, and consolidating my physical and mental resources......paying attention seems in order, and yes, letting some of those well defined "objectives" slip by me to concentrate on the "here", on the "now. Those things I have striven so hard to acquire and were with me all along, And in the enduring words of T.S. Elliot

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time