As Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz would say, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” In keeping with Across the Fence thinking, I would ask you, “Is that a good memory or a bad memory?”
I think the past is a little bit of both, depending on your feelings about where you’ve been and what you’ve experienced along the road of life.
A good friend recently wrote, “I love your column. It helps me think about the past, present, and future. I think we tend to mix the tenses, but there’s only one we can actually live in—the present. I’m reading a book about the Gold Rush to the Yukon. The book isn’t about longing for the good old days—it’s about living through those days and getting past them, to find the gold. It turns out, the gold has been inside us all the time.”
How right he is. It is inside us. How we view the past, present, and future is determined by our attitude and how we feel about life. Many people are so busy living in the past or waiting for the future to arrive, they miss out on living in the present. As most of you know, I’m still working. I hear so many people who can’t wait until they retire so they can start doing things. Then life will be great. The problem is, there’s no guarantee that there will be a future to enjoy. Maybe we all better start doing some things now.
During the past two months, I’ve lost several close friends, relatives, and family members of friends. Two of them occurred in the past few days. They spanned all age groups. Cancer, heart attacks, old age, and auto accidents were the enemies that cut them down. A few were expected and there was a relief that their suffering was over. Others were totally unexpected and it was a shock to receive the news. I especially think of two of them and how full of life they were. They weren’t living in the past or waiting for the future to arrive. They were enjoying the moment and making the best of it, because that’s all we really have.
Bill Woods made the best of his moments. He lost his battle with cancer this past weekend. He looked at his cancer as another challenge and fought hard. Bill had been a pilot and survived several close calls. He said he and our friend, Sid Podell, talked many times about death and dying. They both said they could “go any time” because they had good lives and had done everything they wanted. They died one year apart. Now Bill and Sid are both flying again, as their spirits soar free from the bodies that acted as vehicles for their spirit during this earthly journey.
Another friend was Jean Cheney Duesler. Jean’s heart gave out at the age of 85. I first remember her as an instructor in the nursing program that she helped develop at MATC in Madison, when I was an art student there. She had also been an instructor at the Madison General Hospital School of Nursing. I became a friend of her husband, Paul, who died several years ago. He was also an artist and writer, and we had a lot in common. He became a member of our Deadly Writer’s Patrol, a bunch of veterans who liked to write. We met once a week. When he became too weak from cancer to go out of the house, our writing group began meeting at their house in the Madison Arboretum. After his death, Jean insisted we continue meeting there each week.
Jean was a gifted writer of poetry, plays, and short stories. She had a heart of gold and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Her smile lit up a room. There again, the real gold is found within each person, it’s not some precious metal. Jean had many wonderful memories, as evidenced by her writing, but she lived in the present and made the most of it. She was an example of someone who wasn’t wasting a minute of her precious time on earth. She always maintained that nursing mentality, taking care of everybody. Our whole writing group thought the world of her.
I think too many people are hoping for a better life after this one ends, and forget to live and enjoy their present life. They waste much of the short time they have. Bill and Jean made the most of every day they were given.
How we view the past, present, and future is within each of us. It gets right back to Dorothy and the witches. Do we see life as a good witch or a bad witch? I think our attitude determines which one materializes and becomes reality for us.
Just like those miners, searching for gold in the Yukon, Dorothy and her companions were all searching for something; a brain, a heart, courage, and the way home. After much searching, each found the answer had been inside them all the time. Many of us spend a lot of time searching for something in our life, and forget to look within ourselves for the answers. When viewing your life, I hope you find good memories, good witches, a bright future, and plenty of gold inside you. Cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, and live today!
No comments:
Post a Comment