The Wall

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“What a dear old wall that is that runs along by the river there! I never pass it without feeling better for the sight of it. Such a mellow, bright, sweet old wall; what a charming picture it would make, with the lichen creeping here, and the moss growing there, a shy young vine peeping over the top at this spot, to see what is going on upon the busy river, and the sober old ivy clustering a little farther down! There are fifty shades and tints and hues in every ten yards of that old wall. . . . It looks so peaceful and so quiet, and it is such a dear old place to ramble round in the early morning before many people are about.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)” Ch. 6 (1889)

Live Life

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A few days ago we finished binge watching the show “Suits” and the last three days I’ve had the song “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay stuck in my head. Thanks for that, Harvey Specter. Actually, that song as the closer was the perfect fit for the character. Anyone who knows me needs no explanation when I say when I heard the first notes of the song, I almost wept. And the song has been playing royalty free in my head for days.
 
Each month I try to focus on a concept or theme and the last five years December’s theme is “Mortality.” As Coldplay continues to reverberate in my head, it became evident how the song and the theme complement each other. “Live Life” is how the title translates, and why not?

The song captures victories and losses, heartache and acceptance. It’s a song that captures the fragility of life, and being ok with that. “I don’t always have to be on top.” There are times when you must strike while the opportunity is hot, but everything eventually cools off and grinds to a halt. Life is lived in all moments in between. Heartache and all. 

But that’s not the end. Death is not the end at all. It’s a beginning. What once was becomes something else. Until the last moment arrives, the question becomes, “are you ok with that?” Or better, “what must you do to be at peace?” Someone once said that it’s how you live and love that gives life meaning.

Maybe someone needs to know that you couldn’t have done it without them.





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