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
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