Get our newsletters

Chatterbox: Phases

Posted

Life comes in puzzle pieces – phases – each one seemingly insignificant, yet, each one critical to us and those we love and/or affect, significantly or minimally. People have long searched for the meaning of life. The problem is, no one is sure there is one.

Life, be it animal, vegetable or mineral, arguably, may be the result of random globules that evolved out of mixed chemicals in a pond. Or, we may be a simple part of the collective energies of all things that “live.” Or, life may be the greatest puzzlement the universes have ever known, the finest creation of a single, intelligent energy of a master whom we simply don’t understand. That master has many names.

We think we know everything, but perhaps earthworms do too and, in their earthworm world, it may be true. Still, they don’t know about space travel and we can’t explain it to them. They may wonder why bad things happen and some of them get squished or relocated without warning. We don’t know about what really lies far outside our garden of galaxies either. We just believe we do. As for the meaning of life, well, if there is one, even at our very best, we don’t agree on what it is.

We do know we each get 1,440 minutes a day to make our way and leave our mark. It’s the only level portion of life’s playing field and the only one money or privilege can’t alter ... thank goodness. We can buy free time, but not real time.

What we leave behind is never all we wanted or planned, and no one can ever be sure what pieces of our life will endure or with what effects. We’re just all here, day to day, most of us doing our very best, and whatever sticks or falls, sticks or falls.

At this time of year when the holidays are over and we spend the last bit of the season enjoying the calm after the storm, people get reflective. Sometimes, we wonder about those footprints. The narcissists are pretty much untouchable; they always think they gave too much and didn’t get enough in return. The saints always wish they could do or had done more for others. The reality is, for most of us, somewhere in the gap.

We aren’t really in charge. Life happens at us, and it happens fast, no matter how hard we try to control it and despite what we want, wish, or work for. And, one day at a time, like it or not, rich or poor, saint or sinner, we leave our footprints in the sand.

As our minutes per day tick by, we’re aware of them but never notice any in particular. Each one is mandatory. Each has its own inherent potential and risk. Each should be enjoyed and valued, and each is vital, even if it seems to lack impact – and few, if any, are remarkable for any of us.

We don’t gain enough experience in time to make our youth do all it can for us or for us to do enough for others. Then, most of us spend most of our adult life sacrificing time, energy and accomplishment to raising a family and/or branding a life.

Oct. 20, we talked about the indelible mark parents leave with their imperative and unselfish life’s work. Still, it’s impossible to convince overwhelmed, under-slept, parents of the iconic position they hold (and always will) and how critical what they do every day is. Even in the dedication that is full-time parenting, many only see futility and numbing repetition. It’s only one phase of a life, but a house of cards depends on the stability of all parts. In hindsight all priceless contributions become clear to each of us, but in real time, they’re usually underappreciated at best ... worth remembering.

The truth is that each life is important in its more immediate effects, but even remarkable lives are eventually forgotten, with very rare exceptions. What we all do to and for each other in real time is passed forward, especially in how we affect the world citizens that our children become. It all affects the shape of life – good and bad.

Less obvious to us: we can and will stamp an imprint, intentional or not, always and anywhere on those we engage; we just don’t always know how, when, or on whom. Such is the burden, beauty, reality and ethereality of life, for each of us, in every phase.


Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.


X