Ah well…
It is was an uncommon Sunday. We traveled to the Big City for a memorial service for a fallen friend and relation. It was all about transportation, and the perils of public transportation. 3 trains to downtown, 1 train back. Everything takes longer in the this post-pandemic era. Everything looks a bit tired and shabby. And summer in Chicago means a cold breeze zipping across the river. A June chill. We saw some familiar faces. Years hanging over all of us. We saw a celebration of a life, cut short. An unimaginable illness, unimaginable loss. We all seemed to be just grappling with the basic facts & meanings. No answers. We told stories, we laughed, we hugged, tears welled up in our eyes. A line my father always used to say: "What's it all about Alfie?" Hung over me. Right?! Not sure what it is about at all. What was the theme for the day? EVERYTHING IS PRECIOUS. It all can (and will) be snatched away in an instant. In the meantime, take care. Do good. Be here now. The rest is just a big Mystery. No sense talking about the big subjects, they are all wrapped in clouds, you know, Life, Death, God, Meaning. It seems clear there are no definitive answers, only existential questions. We have to live with the questions. How to do it? Who knows? It's up to us to Live as best we can, knowing what little we do. Maybe, be kind to each other, try to see the Light, and share it? Contain multitudes. Remember: Laughter and Tears of Joy. Everything is Hard-Earned. That is the best we can do, be True.
