There comes a time when we realize that we
don’t have as many years left to live as those
we have already lived.  Suddenly, or gradually,
we begin to reflect on the memories we have,
the decisions we have made, the years we
have left, and how all these shape who we are
and where we are right now.  

We pause, as this man has done, to look back
and reminisce.  I chose an antique toy store
window to emphasize he was looking back
upon his youth.  Seeing the toys from his
childhood as opposed to modern toys
enhances his revisiting of years he cannot
regain.  The shop is amply named “Yesterday’s
Treasures” because that is what our yesterdays
are: treasures.  Our yesterdays have created
who we are today.  As discussed in 12 Stages
9. Reflection
A Personal Note from the Artist
Actual Image Size: 16”x 20”


of LifeTM, Stage 7, “Career”, that is why the moment is so important.  It will become our yesterday.  Will we
make it a valued treasure or a regretful burden?

Reflection of course has a double meaning in this drawing.  He’s reflecting on his life’s value, while looking
at his own reflection in a store window.  Looking back in his mind’s eye, he sees a reflection of himself as
a young man in the glass.  And he realizes that time marches on as we watch helplessly.  Just as I wrote
about the football game and our first love in 12 Stages of LifeTM, Stage 3, "First Love", we can never go
back and change things.  We can only reflect upon them and replay them in our mind.  

The small boy with him reflects his own true nature as well.  He is the inner child of the man, the part of us
that never grows up.  He has been there all along through the 12 Stages of LifeTM series.  He looks up at the
man with approval, recognizing the man is finally reconnecting to the joy and imagination of his youth that
his toys brought.  I was thinking here of “Rosebud” in the movie, “Citizen Kane”.

The building is worn and weathered, in many ways decaying, even at its foundation.  But it houses things
that will never age, things of the mind and spirit.  Things of the heart.  This is not dissimilar to our own
existence.  Our bodies change, decay and fail us, but our spirits never diminish and only become wiser
with each moment we experience and reflect upon.  Perhaps this is why reflection is such a sought after
experience as we age.  In reflection, we are connecting to that which does not decay.  In reflection we give
attention to our spirit, not our temporal body.

The girl striding casually out of the picture represents the antithesis to this.  I wanted to give her a false self-
assurance that was shaky at best.  Pompous and conceited, arrogant and defiant, she’s stuck on herself.  
She thinks life will always be as it is now, that she will not age as others have.  She is oblivious to the
values of community and family.  All she cares about is herself.  She arrogantly dismisses the transition of
life around her and, therefore, fails to participate.  She is missing out on the value of interconnected
relationships and the growth and wisdom they bring to the soul as we age.  She sees only herself, and as
such, will wind up alone, reflecting on her own impotent march through Life.

Reflection is Life’s way of growing us.  But for some, it comes too late, and becomes their prison.
Copyright Bruce Carnahan
All Rights Reserved
12 Stages of LifeTM
9. REFLECTION
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