Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
. . . Dylan Thomas
Brave, powerful, encouraging words from Mr. Thomas. But in an expression of today: "Not so much." It would appear that the healthy, the living and the fearful are those who rage against death. Perhaps a reflection of survivors guilt or a sentiment for those taken too young. At the end of a long and fulfilling life, most individuals are long past raging. Acceptance of death is not a failure nor a surrender, unless it is a surrender to life in all its facets.
No, I am not ill; nor is anyone close to me. Always good to get that out there when communicating into the false fury of the internet. However, several of my friends have lost revered and loved relatives recently and several more have a failing uncle, sibling or parents. It would seem that part of my path this fall is to be flecked with others departures. Lessons learned must first be lessons acknowledged.
I may change my travel plans to provide some moral and logistical support in the midst of this wave of mortality. More and more I am blessed by the flexibility of my chosen lifestyle. I can write from anywhere and apparently am capable of adapting to casual chance and haphazard happenstance. Not qualities a hibernating bear is usually known for. But I am not too old to learn new behaviors in the midst of mortality.
Note to several of my readers. I do understand the requests for more concrete facts in my blog posts of late. Perhaps ambiguity is your lesson for this fall. Thanks for reading, I appreciate the comments, even when I do not act on them.
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photo/art credit: Evening Light: Seasalter
