Birth, Death, and Other Stories

Any day now, our ninety-year-old neighbor on hospice will take his last breath; and any day now, the young couple who live across the street will become parents of their first child. Knowing this, it would be arrogance on my part to be in any way dissatisfied with my own circumstances, or even particularly pleased. For one thing, I could die before either of the events take place. For another, if happiness depends on circumstances, can it really be called happiness? Isn’t being happy while someone is dying every bit as natural as being happy while a baby is being born? The moment we pick and choose, the moment we shun one and accept the other, aren’t we really excluding ourselves from both? And aren’t the two really just part of the same thing? Our first breath and our last, however short or long the thread that connects them, is all of one movement, one moment, one miracle. And so it is for everything and everyone. That said, if you’re happy when you feel sad, so be it. And if you’re sad when you feel happy, that’s fine too. This is your time to be human. Taste it without choosing. Don’t ruin it by acting like a hard-to-please customer.

[ 2084 ]