MUSINGS and other writing by Mark Kolke

. . . . . . there is no edge to openness

TODAY'S MUSINGS

FEEDBACK / COMMENTS

MARK SPEAKS

MARK'S SPEAKING TIPS

ARCHIVED COLUMNS

ARCHIVE WINTER 2020-21

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2020

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2020

ARCHIVE SPRING 2020

ARCHIVE WINTER 2019-20

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2019

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2019

ARCHIVE SPRING 2019

ARCHIVE WINTER 2018-19

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2018

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2018

ARCHIVE SPRING 2018

ARCHIVE WINTER 2017-18

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2017

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2017

ARCHIVE SPRING 2017

ARCHIVE WINTER 2016/17

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2016

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2016

ARCHIVE SPRING 2016

ARCHIVE WINTER 2015/16

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2015

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2015

ARCHIVE SPRING 2015

ARCHIVE WINTER 2014/15

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2014

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2014

ARCHIVE SPRING 2014

ARCHIVE WINTER 2013/14

CONTACT

MY REAL ESTATE LIFE

WHY I WRITE MUSINGS

SHORT STORY PROJECT

POETRY PROJECT

SELECTED OTHER WORK

MY GREATEST FEAR

Thursday Jan. 24, 2019

Worth and value of life matters. I think everyone agrees.

From my viewpoint, most people aren’t happy with their worth (enough never seems to be enough), they question their value/purpose and need a compass to get themselves off the mat and standing up.

Yes, it’s you and me. Not billionaires, slumdogs or lost cultures inhabiting upper reaches of some Amazonian tributary – we are all in this together, we are all getting it wrong and most of us won’t recognize anything close to satisfaction before our permits run out.

Yes, we get a license or permit for nearly everything. Passport or fishing license, health card or driving license and vehicle registration – we are awash is expiry dates and requirements to fill, file, report, renew or pay for some piece or paper and its corresponding computer file somewhere to prove we paid, verified or unexpired – we have what we should have and have it when we should have. Failing which, our library card expires and we cannot check out any more books. Down the road, when the population of earth becomes unsustainable, who gets to stay? Will it be ‘youngest and most fit’, will it be those who are deemed to contribute more/better than others or will it be those who filed their documents and/or paid their fee on time?

At any age, when we feel great (healthy, strong, ebullient) we expect life to flourish in accordance with our ego and dreams.

But when we feel ill or down or pushed aside, the flourish of life loses its luster to thoughts of inadequacy, failings and missed opportunities.

The reality for most of us – as it is for me – is largely unanswerable questions of why we are here, where our ‘here’ really ought to be and whether we will live long enough to achieve that which we want to achieve, whether we’ll die trying or whether we’ll die tomorrow. My greatest fear, is not that I’ll die tomorrow or that I’ll not get-done everything I want to do; rather, it is that one day down this path I’m on I’ll realize quite profoundly that I ought to have been on some other path and I’ll have not enough time or resources to switch paths in time …


SIGN UP TO GET MUSINGS BY e-mail: CLICK HERE

SIGN UP TO GET MUSINGS BY e-mail: CLICK HERE

sign up to get Musings free daily


Comments are always welcome - please contribute to the discussion.  Reply to: kolke@markkolke.com

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. This site is updated daily, each column is retained in the archive when the next day's column is loaded ...  


Copyright - all rights reserved - Mark Kolke, © 2003-2021