Today I was reading a review by Sophia Wellbeloved of the book, Meetings With Remarkable Men by Gurdjieff. The book is a mythological account of Gurdjieff's life story in which Ms. Wellbeloved states that the text is, ?structured like a zodiac that moves backwards from Aquarius via Capricorn to Pisces (contrary to the flow of the year).? She then goes on to say,

?A person who travels through the zodiac is subject to time and
therefore involution and death. However, if he reverses his direction and
moves backwards through the zodiac against time he is on an evolutionary
path. The narrative of Meetings shows the Seekers relation to time in that
they are travelling back away from their contemporary culture, towards
ancient cultures, texts and teachings. The past is represented as a higher
idealised place, an origin or Paradise which they strive to re-enter.?

I was able to relate to this particular passage in a meaningful way as I contemplate my impending ?winding down? of life (I am 71). I have noticed the past few years a gravitational pull towards the past, perhaps in a sense of bewilderment of how things use to be familiar, as opposed to what now seems a forward march to a more chaotic world.

As I recall the old Shaker hymn, I wonder if perhaps another path may be more appropriate for my future.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come out right.