Shhhh. Listen

Dear You,

Despite all the notations on my calendar, I lead a quiet life. Last evening, sitting alone in a room darkened with the draperies drawn against the heat, holding the stem of my wine glass, I looked at the framed certificates on the wall, the academic accomplishments of my hosts for the dinner to come. And I reflected -- not for the first time -- that I now can look into a mirror that is already six decades deep.

What brought me to that room at that moment is, of course, the result of hundreds of decisions and choices that I made (many based on insufficient evidence, but let that pass for now). More, however, seem to have been the result of mere happenstance. And it occurs to me that at least a small measure of wisdom comes from knowing the difference.

I am no longer convinced, as I once was, that I am Captain of my Fate. I am not so arrogant to believe that I owe no debt to those many others who multiplied my efforts in life. I am not so smug to think there is no Higher Power that has put fortune in my path, often when I most needed it. What portion of ambition and intelligence I possessed and have been able to marshall along the way has taken me pretty far, I think. But those alone cannot explain why I sat there so contentedly, sampling a very nice little merlot and awaiting a dinner I did not earn.