In the beginning there is no desire to mark time, and in the end, there is no reason. But in between beginnings and endings, we mark time almost compulsively. Minutes lead to hours, hours to days, days to months, and months to years. And then we repeat. Calendars are the yardsticks with which we measure … Continue reading Marking Time
For most people, eulogies provide the longest biographical narrative ever written about them, recording details of their lives and perceptions of their character. What’s the story of your life? What has animated you? What do you wish to be remembered for? In the end, each of us curates the stories of our own lives. Following … Continue reading The Story of Your Life
Novelist D.H. Lawrence believed that humans are born first to themselves and only later to a sense of humanity, when “most are born again on entering maturity,” shedding the innocence of childhood and achieving an adult understanding of the world – “a consciousness of all the laughing, and the never-ceasing murmur of pain and sorrow … Continue reading Born Anew
“Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think. Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink. The years go by, quicker than a wink, enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think!” This 1950’s hit by Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians was a bit of a hoot to sing years ago. It talked of working so hard to get to … Continue reading Enjoy Yourself, While You’re Still in the Pink
“I’m just not that interesting.” This phrase, spoken by a patient to whom I was to provide a spiritual care intervention, resonated deeply with me. At 85 years-old, this person, at the twilight of their life, assessed the whole of their 85 years in a simple and dismissive way. Every day, whether it feels like … Continue reading We All Have a Story to Tell
“Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon,” quipped novelist Susan Ertz. As October gives way to November, and autumn yields to the first hints of winter, the festivals of the season remind us of our human mortality. Many speculate about what might come next – … Continue reading One Life to Live
