CONVERSATION WITH…Swiss Cheese…A Spiritual Leader in Older Age

/ overthehillontheyellowbrickroad

Traveling Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road, I arrived at a place where all residents gathered for an uplifting, spiritual experience. The building didn’t resemble a church, synagogue, mosque or any other house of prayer. It was just a giant hunk of Swiss cheese. A slender, aging, slightly moldy slice of Swiss cheese approached. I said:

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I might be wrong, but, are you the spiritual leader here?

SWISS CHEESE: I am. How can I be of assistance?

Well, I’m here, Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road, trying to figure out where I belong in the world as I grow older. I’m searching for my spark.

SWISS CHEESE: Welcome, my friend. I hope you will find it here.

Thank you, but how might that be possible? You’re a piece of Swiss cheese.

SWISS CHEESE: My dear, as I age, it is not my physical form or what I look like that matters. It is what I stand for that counts. That is all.

I’m not sure I’m understanding you.

SWISS CHEESE:  Let me explain. As a spiritual leader in this land, I encompass all religions, races, ages, ethnic backgrounds, cultures and traditions. My holes remind us all of the holes we’ve had in our lives that we have yet to fill.

Ah. Okay. I think I’m beginning to see where you’re coming from. You mean, your holes represent regrets from our pasts. Relationships we’d like to change. Adventures we’d still like to have. Parts of our emotional selves we’d like to nurture so we can continue to grow.

SWISS CHEESE: That is right. Sometimes in our busy lives, we don’t take the time to think of these things. My Swiss Cheese House of Spirituality gives us a moment to stop, breathe, look back on where we’ve been, determine what’s missing, and look forward to what might be ahead.

I appreciate what you’re saying. My only problem is I don’t live Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road permanently. There isn’t a Swiss Cheese House of Spirituality in my neighborhood. How can I translate what you’re saying to my everyday life?

SWISS CHEESE: Others have asked the same question. Here is my answer. Each time you order a sandwich in a Deli, you’ll be reminded of me. Remember what I stand for.

You know, for a slice of Swiss cheese, you’re exceptionally wise.

SWISS CHEESE: Many have told me that. You know, I would love to spend more time exchanging thoughts, but it is time for our weekly service. I hope you will join us.

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With that, the slice of Swiss cheese entered the Swiss Cheese House of Spirituality. Many others I’d met Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road followed. Entering the giant hunk of Swiss cheese, I noticed an older tree, a shower cap, a sponge, the Wicked Witch of the West Coast, a dandelion, a vampire, a bird, the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, a wrinkled water bottle…and so many others. It didn’t matter where they all came from. It only mattered where they hoped to go.

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Is there a hole you’d still like to fill in your life?

 

62 thoughts on “CONVERSATION WITH…Swiss Cheese…A Spiritual Leader in Older Age”

  1. There is always something to aim for. Maybe it’s not a regret, but a future wish or aspiration. It doesn’t hurt to have something to strive for and to keep setting new goals. We can’t always fill holes of regret in our past, but we can aim for filled up Swiss cheese holes in the future.

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  4. Cathi, our grandmother used to say that there is ALWAYS someone who is worse off than almost ALL the worst, and so she was a charitable person. My mom took on an amazing amount of volunteer activities. Though I couldn’t keep up with her accomplishments in that area, I always plugged myself into volunteering for the ones that were right for me. As I continue, I feel like I’m carrying on some of their legacy, and helps to fill the hole left by the loss of mom this past year. YES, we should “applaud ourselves for our achievements”.

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    • Wow Karen, that was so beautifully written. I didn’t know about all those volunteering activities. I’m so glad you shared that info with me. Having lost my mother at a young age, I think whenever our moms pass on, they do leave some kind of “hole” in us. I have been trying to fill that hole since childhood. My mother was really creative and maybe I’m carrying on her legacy by also leading a life filled with creativity. Thank you for helping me to see that.

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  11. You’re right, we all have holes that need to be filled. And I must say that I get a kick out of how you manage to work profound ideas into your conversations with various items…your posts are both funny and poignant, and that’s not an easy combination to achieve!

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  17. OOH! Oh, oh oh oh!!! You hit me right in the solar plexus! And so beautiful a way of saying it! After 41 years of happy marriage and five years of being a widower, there are those empty spaces still to be filled. There are those adventures still to be had. There are new relationships still to be found. If I die tomorrow, I won’t feel any regret, although I didn’t do everything right in my life so far. The things I did wrong were those that I didn’t do wholeheartedly- But with those that I did with my whole heart I know they were good. Even when I found out in the end they were wrong! Oh, I’ve tasted that Swiss Cheese. I hope there are still some slices left for me.
    Ellington

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  19. I like holey cheese (holy too), but I don’t like stinky cheese. The same could be said of the people I choose to go through life with. Most have many holes – as we all do – but none are stinky (unkind or unloving). I hope to continue to meet hol(e)y people (and creatures big and small). We can all celebrate our holes, and filling them up in some way. xo

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