“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at the close of day,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Dylan Thomas
1914 – 1953
Brain Pickings refers to that poem as a “rapturous ode to the tenacity of the human spirit”. Yep. That’s what I wanted.
When I got home from my cruise there was good news and bad news. The good news was a girls’ weekend – the first one in several years – was in the works. The bad news was that getting together had developed an urgency. One of us had been diagnosed with a serious condition.
I have referred to my delightfully enjoyable, misspent youth on different occasions. These people were some of the players on that stage. These are some of the people who have weaved in and out of my life for over 50 years. These are the people who, when you say “I need you”, drop everything and come.
This weekend we went.
Getting there was not easy. For some strange reason, a bus trip from here to a point 80 miles away was scheduled to take nine hours! I asked around. I begged. I negotiated. I found myself rides that would not have me on a bus all day. I would have taken the bus if I had to, but the Universe decided to cooperate with me. Thank you.
I was afraid it would be a solemn weekend, but I underestimated the people I was meeting. We went to a good restaurant. We went to a wine tasting party. Santa Claus was there, and we sat on his lap – three at a time. We got matching pajamas and had a slumber party.
Metaphorically speaking, we danced on the deck of the Titanic and it was good.
Why do I tell you this? Probably because I came to several, simply profound conclusions that you might wish to ponder yourself. Thoughts like…
Life is short, but it does not need to always be brutal.
When the going gets rough, drink wine, eat brownies and have a slumber party!
Surround yourself with the people and things that you love.
Take your good memories out and play with them regularly. Be sure to share those “toys”.
Laugh. Life is the funniest, weirdest thing to ever have happened to you. Might as well appreciate the humor.
And don’t forget to do this often and do it soon.
We are making plans to all get together again in the spring. Adversity has a way of showing you what is important. It focuses your attention. It makes you realize you may have been neglecting the things you value most. If it is important and you want it, do it now.
What does this have to do with vision loss? Nothing. Everything. I was the only one who has vision loss, but I was not the only one dealing with a physical problem. We helped one another. We commiserated together. We contributed in the ways we could. Everything balanced out.
In one other way we have been fortunate. Our alarm sounded at the beginning of the end, not at the end itself. We have time to make a few more memories.
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at the close of day,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
What is important to you? If it is important and you want it, do it. Do it now.
Written November 24th, 2019