How do you measure a life?
A friend recently lost a relative and she said, “It’s sad. Just like that, she’s gone, they are scraping the body out, and the next thing you do is clean out the refrigerator. Like it was all nothing.”
Today they found an elderly black man floating in the bayou. He had apparently been there for a while. Did someone miss him? Was there an APB out for this old man?
I’m learning to live with impermanence – read: Katrina. I’m learning that life is short but it’s wide and I’m trying to adapt my way of life to that reality. I’m also fighting my nature to become a witness to my mother’s addiction instead of judging her. And yet, what’s it all about Alfie?
If in the end, after everyone sheds a tear or two, and continues on with breakfast, lunch or dinner, what will be your mark on this world? If it is small – maybe you left behind money that helps care for others – or if it is large – you’ve spent your life in service – in the end, isn’t it true that we all die alone?
I will take a minute to think about the old man they found in the bayou this morning and hope that he died while fishing.