In the two weeks since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I’ve found myself thinking again and again of King Charles. At 73, he has become the oldest person to ascend the British throne. And although few of us are waiting to rule over kingdoms (real ones, anyway), Charles’s experience puts a spotlight on something many of us can relate to: how the opportunities we imagine might transform our lives for the better so rarely happen along the timeline we expect. And sometimes when they do present themselves, we find we’ve already grown accustomed to living without them. Two paintings help me reflect on this more deeply.
在女王伊丽莎白二世去世的两周内，我发现自己一再想起查尔斯国王。73岁的他成为英国最年长的王位继承人。尽管我们中很少有人等待着统治王国(至少是真正的王国)，但查尔斯的经历让我们关注到一些与我们有关联的事情：我们想象的可能改变我们生活的机会，很少按照我们预期的时间顺序发生。有时当它们出现时，我们发现我们已经习惯了没有它们的生活。有两幅画帮助我更深入地思考这个问题。