The Key
Had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day. We were talking about how she always recommended my blog to her friends, particularly those dealing with dementia and loss. But she recognized recently that was no longer the case. The subject matter these days has changed. I had to agree. It’s been nearly three years since I dealt with my wife’s dementia, and it’s nearly been three years since her passing, and my essays on loss are fewer and fewer.
I seem to have circled back to the mundane, the minutia of everyday life, with a lesson thrown in for good measure on occasion. Sort of where I started. But in the spirit of never being able to go home again, that’s obviously changed, too. Why, I’m a changed man, with a different perspective. Number one. Nothing is given. You never know from minute to minute what fate has in store for you. Number two. Well, I don’t think there’s a number two. Everything hinges on number one.
And the biggest thing hanging there for me is happiness. It’s my business. I need to be about it. If I’m waiting for someone to make me happy, I’ll wait a long time. I’m responsible for my happiness. Which all sounds terribly trite as if happiness is the point of life and living. But it makes everything a lot easier if you can find some joy and internalize it while you’re looking for someone to love and your next meal. It’s just a great way to pass the time. Because as I just said, you never know.
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