Death and Taxes

 

These flowers were supposed to be out three weeks ago. I mean, it doesn't matter to me that they were late; I just feel bad for people who actually planned their lives around a failed prediction. This last week was a glaring lesson for many about unpredictability. I was going to write about Kobe Bryant's injury, and then bombs started going off in Boston. Meanwhile there is uncertainty in North Korea, as their young dictator seems to be "predictably" following the family's twisted game plan, but who knows what may transpire? Also, a so-close-I-could-smell-the-empanadas defeat for change in Venezuelan politics was not anticipated, yet cruelly taunting... and I was planning on relaxing at Cantina Marina to enjoy the beautiful spring weather on my day off, but that sun in the photo here was the only five minutes of sun all day!

I know, I know - a whole scope of unfortunate circumstances, and the least disappointing of which was my detour to the Cherry Blossom Festival.  What we do know is that with as much as we calculate and leave ourselves open for flexibility, the waves of this ocean are going to take us on unexpected journeys through good and bad waters. However, the point is not that we are powerless; on the contrary - we should be resilient. Yes, the hits will come, but instead of questioning a divine presence or asking "why" when there will be no satisfactory answer, we should look ahead and see the beauty inherent in this life that otherwise knows no rules except death and taxes. Forgive the conclusion and my sympathies to those - in every part of the world every day - who grieve, but for those five minutes of sun, I will give thanks... and I won't ask why.

Blossoms Revisited

It was the 7 o'clock hour early in the morning in Washington DC. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival has yet to begin, but the pink buds are beginning to burst open with life and transform the view around the tidal basin once again. This precious fleeting beauty is a reminder of so much in life that seems to come and go in the blink of an eye.

Behold.