Contemplation

I've had many heated conversations with . . . myself over how a circumstance, or life itself, should be perceived. My best time for self-probing is late at night. Even now (in my sixties), I lean toward idealism. Reality--not killjoy, but counselor--reminds me of my boundaries. Opportunities to balance realism and idealism have proven successful, warding off pessimism. Pursuance of goals is still fueled by fire, but the flames don’t leap so high as when I was young and vigorous. Effective self-examination can be time-consuming and painful, sometimes revealing that challenging changes are required of me. These growing pains, even-- or perhaps especially—at my age, are necessary, for life is not yet through with me. I classify myself as the basically satisfied, often joyful by-product of late-night contemplation. March 9, 2021 entered in Craig Cornish's Contemplation Poetry Contest