As I type today (7/17/2020), I’m sitting in a hospital room alone with a relative’s personal belongings while said relative is in a procedure that will result in appointment next week to learn of next steps. The chances that there is a crisis seem small at the moment.
In the meantime, a close friend is headed to her doctor due to fever that has been refusing to leave (going on 2 weeks) and is now staying over 101. Possibly she has COVID-19 pneumonia.
When life places you where there are thoughts of the possibility of losing someone(s) near and dear, life comes into focus. We can’t and shouldn’t operate on that edge all the time — it would be exhausting, and we would be constantly consumed with “what will I do if….?” But the moments of insight are valuable, and I think we can carry them with us going forward if we so choose.
I once read a story about how Pres. Abraham Lincoln was implored by a mother for her son not to be put to death for his war crimes. He relented and allowed the son to live. If the story is accurate, he said, “But I do wish we could give him just a little bit o’ hangin’.”
I get that. We all occasionally need just a little bit of hangin’ to remember what’s really important to us. A large part of the beauty of life is that it doesn’t last forever. That’s both its beauty and its tragedy.
There’s a lot going on with the word “woke” now. I’m not sure what part of speech it’s supposed to be. The only traditionally correct use I can think is in “I woke up at 6:30”, etc. But wokeness of today means awareness of how things really are.
It is our natural tendency as well as that of all living creatures to avoid pain. We do it consciously and unconsciously. I’m not any different, but I also know I want to be woke to life — to beauty, to loss, to pain, to disappointment, to joy, to heartache. All of them are indications that life is going on, and Life is precious.
I hope to hear later today that my friend is diagnosed with something less than COVID pneumonia and will go home with a prescription and scheduled follow-up. And next Wednesday that the hospital patient will need only a stronger antibiotic than before.
But life is uncertain at best, and my hope is that I can meet it head-on and “woke”, in the best sense.
4 Responses
xulyqu
The very heart of your writing while sounding reasonable at first, did not work very well with me personally after some time. Somewhere throughout the sentences you managed to make me a believer unfortunately only for a while. I nevertheless have a problem with your jumps in logic and you might do well to help fill in those breaks. If you can accomplish that, I could definitely end up being fascinated.
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