Choices

It's a rare day when the people I draw are in such sharp contrast as these. The sad old woman here on the left was nearing ninety-five and close to the end when I drew her a few years ago. The thoughtful young lady below, not quite 20 at essentially the same time, had not yet found the ultimate direction of her life.  Both sat very quietly, one looking inward at long gone times in memory, the other contemplating a future stretched years into an unknowable future.  It's a common cliche that seniors may have remorse for old actions but more likely regret things not done at all, - while the young see few problems or choices except those immediate.

In the begining and in the end you are your own mentor and motivator; you direct your own life, you do what you have to do and enjoy what you have while you can. 

The longer we live, the more we are obliged to confront the deeper meaning of what we do.   (David Toop)

To be old can be glorious if one has not unlearned how to begin. (Martin Buber)

I never feel age... If you have creative work, you don't have age or time. (Louise Nevelson)