Homeless in Paris Homeless in Paris | Page 48

B"H whether this should be viewed as sad, and how much of that view is implanted there by culture merchants. From the perspective o f eternity, our life is but a spark, but it takes a terribly long time until we arrive. Thus stated the purpose of old age is to infuse our lives with an articulation of beauty that may come forth fro m our talents and strengths, and it is society's responsibility to provide the elderly with opportunities to cultivate artful living. The wisdo m of a n author like Shakespeare was much deepe r than the meaning of a poetic phrase to establish the difference between "to be or not to be." In mo st languages, the verb is an action identified with the subject who performs it. I am (na me), I am (function), and I am (characteristic) . The form of "to be" that attaches to action is significance of abstract identification. This is enough reason to conclude that the essence of "I AM" is a n alignment of molecular activity from within , an individua l communicating itself in its environment. It disputes the notion tha t being has something to do with becoming, because the latter is dependent or sociological circumstances. My visit to my mo m and sister was an expression of gravitational currents contained within us. How could this visit be a successful endeavor to be a s on and brother while remaining detached from my identity as a huma n being and no more significant than an atom in a stray molecule, hovering through the expanse of time? I had traveled something like 10,000 km, had made at best an ephemeral appearance in t heir life that proved an emotional burden perhaps not worth the effort, but if so, only by virtue of being laden with the possibility o f positive emotions shared since the occasion. This manner o f personal detachment is referred to, "going through the moti ons." One may sojourn upon a nevermore zone beneath the abyss whic h is the entrance unto nowhere. During the week I was in Seattle, I eagerly awaited the arriva l of kinfolk, my first cousin, and her spouse who planned their pilgrimage to a matriarchal aun t in coordination with my visit and we shared a lunch at their expense. Unfortunately, I had confused my time schedule planning my departure the day of their arrival. We enjoyed a short visit in my mo m's residential living facilities; showed the m movies of her grandchildren and great - grandchildren, and the next day met with officials in the institutio n where she's incarcerated. I beca me sensitized to her tortuous 48