Circles

Imagine.   You, we,  have a handful of pebbles.  There is only so many but...

Really, quite a few, so throwing one in the water  is no big deal. I mean, that's life, and what we ought to do.   It's the effort we make to live.
  One at a time at first.
You see the circles the waves make.  They are perfectly round and spread out till you can't see them anymore.  They move in all directions at once.
Even in directions we really had no intention.
It doesn't mean they are gone but only that we can't see them.
Each pebble is an effort.   I won't quantify it.   Something I've done.  People I said hello to.  Actions I've made.  Doors I've opened.  Chances I've taken.  The leftover circle widens and disappears in the distance.   I have no idea where it goes or where it lands or what stops it entirely.
That also is life.
The really cool part to me is when several of us throw our pebbles at the same time.   We are all in the same circle. It is a miracle.   We all make circles within circles and these spread out to touch others we may never even meet.   We are joined by the  waves and by the combined efforts in tandem with others.  We are each other's circles.  We are truly not alone.
It is my most favorite part of life.  It is something I've tried hard to keep going even when all trace of the circle is gone.  Like when I miss the water and my pebble lands on sand.  There is no reverbration or wave or anything that living things need.
Time moves on.   Seasons change.
The water in which I throw my pebble seems small and uninviting.  No one is here to make waves with me. This has been coming for a long time.   I could feel it.
Maybe my choice of pebble type is too discerning.  Or my choice of water.   None of it may matter anyway.
Still, I begin to see only my circle made from my single pebble.  Like when I was young.  Alone.
Then, I notice new Circles begin to show up and from the most unlikely areas.   I barely noticed them before yet they were there all the time.  Just like at the beginning I discover that once again I'm throwing my pebble into the same circle as my buddies.   Life is sweet and not lonely.
I do miss my old acquaintances and I miss the person I was when I was with them.  Yet, my water is stale and old to them.  It doesn't attract those I thought I needed so badly as I once did.
I do miss those days.  Badly.   As I miss my youth, and my middle age.  Maybe I will miss my old age one day too!
I'm at the point where I throw way out.   I can't even see where my pebble lands.  I know there is a wave. I have seen so many.    I have faith.   I will throw those pebbles for as long as I can and make all the circles there are.
I do love my circles.