What is life anyway? It occurs to me, as I prepare our morning cappuccinos, that life is really just tiny gestures, millions of them perhaps, but then it’s gone. You place a spoonful of ground espresso coffee in the little container, place that container in its proper place in the espresso machine, then turn the dial to the correct mode, and a nice espresso stream flows from the machine into the little cup. And then you turn off the stream just as the coffee reaches the top. Then you remove the little container and empty its contents of wet espresso coffee. Next, you go to the fridge and pour a little bit of fat-free milk into a small container and bring it over to the espresso machine, where you bring the milk to a foam using a small wand in the machine. Then into each cup of espresso, a layer of milk foam is placed on top, followed by a little bit of cinnamon, and a hint of raw sugar. And there you have another wonderful cappuccino, which you hand to your wonderful wife, and you both clink and say, “to us”. And then you consume the cappuccino, sipping slowly so as to gather all the aroma and taste available. And there is yet another tiny gesture, one of millions as you wander through your life.
And your life is filled with such tiny gestures. It is in
fact what life is all about. We think of life as grand gestures, doing good
things for humanity. And some of us have included within our lives just such
gestures. But mainly, our lives are
simply collections of the tiny things. And, so I was thinking, one day I will
cease to be, and I will no longer carry out these tiny gestures, not to mention
the grand ones. No, I will no longer
scratch the top of my cat’s head, or rub my eye, because it is itching, or
partake of a glass of wine, or even a glass of water. And you are unaware that you can no longer
partake of these tiny gestures, because your 40 -50 million minutes of life
have run out. And a little switch in your brain has simply turned off. And because you no longer have a functioning
brain, you no longer actually exist. It
is as though you were never here, alive and laughing.
But because your entire life is composed of these tiny
gestures, perhaps it might be worthwhile to at least be more aware of
them. You see, there is no actual
counter in life, no one to tell you, “OK, it’s all over, and now you’re done.”
Some people are indeed aware that their life may be ending soon, especially
those folks who are afflicted with a cancer, or some other life-ending disease, or those who have been grievously injured and know it is a matter of
moments. But most of us don’t know, even those of us who are seriously old—how
old is that? Your choice, you decide how old is “seriously old”.
But it is the “paying attention” thing I am drawn to
thinking about, now that I am approaching my 87th year on this
planet. Maybe it’s that COVID thing.
COVID tends to focus the mind, but mainly only if one contracts COVID.
Otherwise, it is merely a distraction. I
find myself going through my work-free day, doing roughly similar things and
ending eating dinner and watching British mysteries on TV, day after day.
Sometimes, when I awaken for a new day, I have to focus to be sure which day of
the week it is.
Now, to be fair, were I still a working class dude, I would
be more aware of each day, and would in fact have at least some differences in
my chore list each day. I mean, my goodness,
I had to routinely board airplanes, attend meetings in strange towns, call
folks to obtain information, or maybe even begin or continue writing some
treatise for a client. But, to be fair,
each of those were also small gestures in this grand place we call Planet
Earth. Now, a nice walk along Union
Street seems enough of a chore for the day, and that involves dozens of little
gestures, called walking and observing.
And as I move along the pathway that is Union Street in our
little village, watching for cars as I cross streets, avoiding oncoming
pedestrians by walking out into the street, because none of us is wearing a
mask, I often begin thinking of other little things and how little good things
have been turning into big bad things.
See, I’m focusing. And what are those little things? Well, I was
thinking about money, and how money is both a good thing and a really horrible
thing. Think of the invention of money.
Initially I am thinking that humans simply traded things. “Let’s see, how about
if I give you six tomatoes and you give me six ears of corn? OK?”
And then the dude with the six ears of corn had to think. Was that an even trade? Enter MONEY! Now money seems a simple enough concept. But,
as with many seemingly simple ideas, the invention of money involved hundreds
of years, and many brains, now long gone, to actually lead us to our current
approach. I looked up the invention of money,
and discovered among the many explanations, a few that bear insightful witness
to its origins. The one I might
recommend can be found at:
The
Functions of Money - The Human Journey
Looking at the origins, as defined in that article, it seems
pretty clear that a simple idea, “how many tomatoes equals six ears of corn?”,
has now been translated into a monstrously complex system of ideas. So, money now seems to be a BIG THING. But not only is Money Big, perhaps because of
its complexities, it has also transformed from a simple good idea, into a
complex Evil System so corrupt that it now beggars belief. And our world now seems consumed by this thing
we call Money. It now affects everything we do—all the things both big and
little now seem at least affected by this Money thing. And while there are wondrous things done with
money, that concept seems more often negative than positive. And because the acquisition of money is
something we all wish for, most of us never acquire the skills or the
understanding of money acquisition, so that we spend much of our lives skipping
past, or simply ignoring all those little things, because we are preoccupied
with this thing called money, and our relative lack thereof.
But we need to understand that, when we enter that dark period
where the switch of life is turned off, money will not allow us to escape. No,
everyone is dissolved in the same way, although the monied set perhaps leave
life with more luxury. Still, they are gone also, and with it, their relative
understanding of LIFE and its little gestures—those things of which LIFE is
composed.
So, tomorrow, perhaps we all need to pay attention more to
LIFE’s little gestures. As we open our
eyes in the morning, look around. Observe your surroundings. Look at that person
with whom you occupy your life, if you are so lucky. When they open their eyes,
look into those eyes, and smile at that person.
Try to remember as your day progresses the tiny things that consume your
day. Let LIFE into your life. Yes, we
all must pay attention to other things like money. But mainly, try to remember
the tiny pieces of beauty that arrive each day into your life. A smile, a kind
gesture, a wandering butterfly, the sunlight streaming into your window.
Notice, and smile. Because that is called LIFE.
