Stages of Life
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The Stages of Life, beginning to end
Someone once said that "time is the fire in which we burn". The days do take their toll. In a wink we go through the days and weeks and years. Then we stop and ask "where did the years go"?When we were fresh and young the days seemed to last much longer. Everything we saw and did was a new adventure. We were playing, learning and growing. Then as time goes by we begin to understand a little more about the world into which we were born and the adventures begin to fade away. Time flies by as play gives way to life's responsibilities.
We laugh and we cry as we wend our way down the road of life. Eventually we will reach the end of our days on earth. Did our lives mean anything? Only time will tell.
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Childhood:
That magical time when everything is new and exciting.When you were a child every day was a new adventure? The world was full of wonder. |
Youth:
The time when we strike out to follow our dreams. Everything seems possible and the sky is the limit. We say goodbye to childhood and begin our quest. |
Manhood:
(i.e. adulthood) The time when our dreams meet reality head on. Hopes often collide with despair and our fate sometimes seems unsure. |
Old Age:
Our bodies begin to fail and the time ahead is measured by what has gone before. Here is where our journey ends. The circle is complete. |
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The Journey Through Life:
The artist Thomas Cole's interpretations of life's stages are a favorite of mine. Through his art he leads us down the path each one of us must take before we come to our journeys end. Childhood, youth, manhood and old age are the stepping stones he uses to show life's passages.If we take the time to contemplate the phases of life that we will all pass through, or have already passed through, a new understanding of ourselves will emerge. Things will become a little clearer and life will take on a new meaning for us as we wend our way down the corridors of time.
view originals at national gallery of art, washington d.c. |
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National Gallery of Art Brief Guide
Cole's renowned four-part series traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the "River of Life." Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of "Youth" and its aspirations for glory and fame. As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature's fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence. Only prayer, Cole suggests, can save the voyager from a dark and tragic fate.From the innocence of childhood, to the flush of youthful overconfidence, through the trials and tribulations of middle age, to the hero's triumphant salvation, The Voyage of Life seems intrinsically linked to the Christian doctrine of death and resurrection. Cole's intrepid voyager also may be read as a personification of America, itself at an adolescent stage of development. The artist may have been issuing a dire warning to those caught up in the feverish quest for Manifest Destiny: that unbridled westward expansion and industrialization would have tragic consequences for both man and nature.
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