Upward and Onward - A Women's Own Perspective
Little Man in a Boat (on the far left)
Jonathan had always been drawn to the water, the way it accepted him without question, without the need for pretense. As he paddled the kayak across the glassy surface, he reflected on the solitary nature of his journey, the quiet contemplation it afforded him. The fog seemed to cast everything in a shroud of mystery, and the dock that lay ahead appeared as a sentinel to a world beyond the one he knew.
As he maneuvered closer to the dock, the symmetry between the kayak and the reflection it cast on the water below was not lost on him. He was, in a way, suspended between two worlds—the world of the tangible above and the reflected world below. This duality brought to mind the greater dualities of life, the unseen forces that propel us forward, that shape our destinies in ways we can hardly fathom.
Eternal Women draws us upward.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
The words of Goethe resonated within him, a timely remembrance of the women who had shaped his life. His thoughts drifted to his mother, whose gentle guidance had been the compass by which he navigated his early years. To the teachers who had recognized his potential and nurtured his intellect. To the love of his youth, whose departure had left a void no amount of paddling could fill.
These women, eternal in his memory, had indeed drawn him upward, had elevated his spirit and set his sights on heights he might never have aspired to alone. They were the unseen current beneath his kayak, the force that propelled him, even now, as he sought their wisdom in the solitude of nature.
Jonathan came to a stop beside the dock, resting his paddle across the kayak. He let his hand trail in the cool water, feeling the connection to all the women who had touched his life, whose influence rippled through his being like waves on a once-still pond. He looked upward, where the fog began to lift, revealing the promise of blue sky—a symbol of the ascension that Goethe spoke of, the aspiration to a higher self, a greater purpose.
As he sat there, the kayak bobbing gently in the water, Jonathan realized that his journey was not one of physical distance but of spiritual depth. The women in his life had instilled in him a reverence for the profound, a love for the beauty that lay in truth and authenticity. It was these qualities he sought to embody, to honor their legacy by living a life that was deeply felt, that embraced the full spectrum of human experience.
With a deep breath, Jonathan picked up his paddle once more. He would continue his journey, not just across the water, but through life, ever upward, ever seeking the heights to which the eternal women in his life had drawn him. Their lessons were etched in his heart, guiding him like the stars guide the mariners at sea—steadfast, luminous, and timeless.
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