I recently published a personal essay in a Boston magazine. It was about growing up between two worlds while trying to successfully negotiate both. And while a few family and friends read the essay with positive feedback, some of the people I love most in this world have not read it...or anything else I've written. And that's quite a lot of material to ignore at this point. It just struck me tonight, as I hurriedly prepared for the upcoming holiday, that it's entirely ironic how the people I believe know me best, barely know me at all.
Mortality is always on the periphery of my acute consciousness with the long history as a cancer patient. When I realized tonight that there are people in my heart who choose not to read my work--not some of the time but all of the time, I felt, well, miserable. How can those people remember me when I'm no longer on this planet? And then I recognized something horrible: It simply doesn't matter.
And though it's a tough pill to swallow--to know you're not much more than a piece of furniture in a person's life, a person you care for deeply--it does speak to the complexities of human existence.
By reading this now, you are turning suffering into joy. It's not my words or my writing that matter--it's YOU. Without you, my words are as empty as the vacuum of space. That's the magic of humanity. We can take wisps of words and entangle them with existence in such a way, it impacts our very souls. No other creature on the planet can do that. Makes you wonder if that's part of our purpose, a purpose largely unfulfilled. But through you, we come closer to life's greatest muse each day. Through you, I, too, come closer.
And frankly, that connection is more important than anything else....
Thanksgiving is in a few days and as always, I'm grateful for many, many things...not the least of which is YOU.
Know that you're not alone. When we feel alone, we're in danger of forgetting who we truly are. But when we have a sense of connection, we can face this world together. Even if you are physically alone right now, by virtue of reading these words, we're together. I'm holding your hand. And I'll never leave you.
Happy Thanks and Giving to All!
Mortality is always on the periphery of my acute consciousness with the long history as a cancer patient. When I realized tonight that there are people in my heart who choose not to read my work--not some of the time but all of the time, I felt, well, miserable. How can those people remember me when I'm no longer on this planet? And then I recognized something horrible: It simply doesn't matter.
And though it's a tough pill to swallow--to know you're not much more than a piece of furniture in a person's life, a person you care for deeply--it does speak to the complexities of human existence.
By reading this now, you are turning suffering into joy. It's not my words or my writing that matter--it's YOU. Without you, my words are as empty as the vacuum of space. That's the magic of humanity. We can take wisps of words and entangle them with existence in such a way, it impacts our very souls. No other creature on the planet can do that. Makes you wonder if that's part of our purpose, a purpose largely unfulfilled. But through you, we come closer to life's greatest muse each day. Through you, I, too, come closer.
And frankly, that connection is more important than anything else....
Thanksgiving is in a few days and as always, I'm grateful for many, many things...not the least of which is YOU.
Know that you're not alone. When we feel alone, we're in danger of forgetting who we truly are. But when we have a sense of connection, we can face this world together. Even if you are physically alone right now, by virtue of reading these words, we're together. I'm holding your hand. And I'll never leave you.
Happy Thanks and Giving to All!
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