Ripe

I am ripe in the desert. Like the apple on the tree in my backyard.

I could have said

I am fine in the desert

or

I am mature in the desert

but

I am ripe in the desert

holds truth for me.

According to Webster's Dictionary, "ripe" means full-blown, plump, developed. That's true but it's not what I'm looking for.

Thesaurus.com comes closer. If I am ripe, I am accomplished. I am sagacious. I am prime.

That's it.

To become ripe, you need time.

Time to try out a turtle pose in yoga.

Time to watch the ants.

Time to read the books and walk the trails.

Time to discover that Tai Chi is the best thing since sliced bread.

Reaching  ripe means standing next to a saguaro and feeling life when you pass your hand over its cool skin. It means knowing you could make a fool of yourself and getting out on that dance floor anyway. It means reading Calvin and Hobbes. It means  recognizing that, even with my gray hair and  a few wrinkles, I am intelligent, humorous, fun loving,

still excited about life.

I am ripe.