quitting puts them on the soul.
I like that one. Sometimes looking in the mirror I am astounded by the changes taking place, seemingly at the speed of light. My muscle mass, flexibility and time for warm-up and recovery have all dramatically changed. There are wrinkles where once were none. I am not alarmed by this. I respect what Hollywood calls the passage of time. Shit happens. It is our nature to get sick, wither, decay and eventually die. There are no exceptions. I will refrain from making any pithy references to taxes as being the other absolute.
Bogie once famously instructed his make-up artist to tell the director that he wanted his wrinkles and furrows left alone, not masked, as he had earned them and saw them as a thespian badge of honor. It is a sad commentary that this only applies to men in Tinsel Town, although that bigoted, biased, sexist reality is slowly changing as well.
I think Bogie might have understood that the best we can do is the best we can do, regardless of circumstances, chances of success or the degree of difficulty involved. One must, the audience a well as cast, press onward, savor every moment and move vigilantly forward. With gusto, bravado and hope.
Hope that with enough focus and effort, with enough joy and commitment, with enough humanity and empathy, we will both survive and thrive. We will live to fight another day. We will gracefully merge our remaining skills with our expanding base of experience and create more….meaning.
That is not a perfect answer to your question I realize, but viewed from a different perspective, it makes sense. And yes, once again, fear plays a part.
Because once you make a commitment - you get answers.
Big, bold, personal, universal and powerful kind of answers.
So let's check our levels of commitment today. Anything less than all-in might leave you down and out.
I am currently enjoying another audio book. Another reading from a book previously read. It is a terrific medium. I was rudely reminded of how obnoxious radio and TV commercials vie for our attention as I returned to am radio and broadcast tv over the last few Saturdays. OMG insulting. And I used to be in that business (the start of the wrinkles). Audio books are a refreshing diversion.
Art in America by Ron McLarty is into its 7th CD. The protagonist, Steven Kearney was talking to his new gal about his body of literary work and summed it by saying that his plays, poems, scripts, novels and short stories are for the sake of art, while his essays are ways to explain things to himself.
I will not quit.
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