Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream

looking around the room in which i sit, i see many pieces that were purchased at antique stores.  my wife and i don't think of ourselves as collectors of antiques, but we seem to have an affinity for older decorative objects.  among our most beloved possessions are a trio of lamps with glass shades that cast a gentle light and seem almost alive in their warmth.  lighting fixtures of this type were once very popular but are difficult to find nowadays and quite expensive compared to more modern lamps.  

as i look at these three lamps, i wonder whose homes they once lit.  i wonder if their former owners loved them as much as we do.  were they struck by the beauty of the glass?  did they feel the delight in their warmth as we do?  did they enjoy the intricacy of the metal work in their bases and in the shades which frame the honey-colored glass?  what were their homes like?  were they prosperous or did they struggle to get by?  could they have imagined that their beautiful lamps would find a home with someone who treasures them?

i think about where they may go after we are gone.  i hope that our two children will take them into their homes and delight in them as we do now.  they may find themselves in an antique store where someone else will see them and fall in love with them.  if some strangers take possession of them, will the new owners enjoy them as we do?  these precious lamps may light the homes of happy couples who have no idea about their history, just as we have no knowledge of the previous owners.  it amazes me that these objects and others that i see around me have stories to tell that we can never know.  they have lives of their own and mean different things to each successive owner, bearing silent witness to the beings whose lives are lived in their presence.

may we see that we are connected to one another across generations, that every object we see and touch connects us to countless others we will never know.  may we honor those lives that went before us, that suffered and rejoiced just as we do.  may we live in hope that those who follow us will not forget us, that we will live on in their memories.  may we have compassion for those who have gone before and those who are yet to be, just as we strive to have compassion for those whose lives we share in this present moment.  shalom.