FUTURE IS FUTILITY
… toil in present – future is unavailable
Saturday May 24, 2014
Our story.
Our duty to tell.
Life has been worthy.
All it meant to us, to others.
We must leave our message.
Not for teaching, but for leaving something …
We need tell, our story must be told, before it is too late.
.... and type faster!
Future has always been what it would be.
Looks different from here, now, than ever – easier to understand why people do wild crazy things, have a mid-life crisis, run away from home, embark on new causes, or suddenly get religion.
We’ve always known most things we accomplish won’t matter; nothing to do with self-value. Self-worth doesn’t connect with future.
Future is external to us, not entwined with egos, pastimes or abilities/inabilities.
Future happens without us.
We’ll be around awhile.
Then we won’t.
What we do is not the future, and the future is not us.
Caring about future has value – save oceans, or save us from rising oceans, save spotted owls or a doomed turkey, preserve old buildings.
We can attach to any cause.
Still, future goes on.
Without us.
My point?
What’s this lesson to be learned?
My life is finite.
The future isn’t.
No tangible connect between them.
I can do something about my life.
I can do nothing about the future.
I have three projects this weekend.
One, to haul things.
The second, to oil 3 pieces of furniture – 2 new, 1 very old in need of work.
Third, write an over-due piece for the Cancer Society – someone I interviewed died recently – to make sense of my notes, my memories, telling her story as it ought to be preserved for the future.
Mark Kolke
197,696
column written/ published from Calgary
(P.S.: I’m in final throws of my move – have a 72” X 30” meeting room table and a 72” X 20” oak credenza to get rid of … free to a good home … so if anyone in Calgary wants them, contact me in the next couple of days please)
morning walk: 9C / 48F, sunny with heat expected …. Gusta being less than ideally cooperative, she couldn’t overcome the strong smells to explore in tall damp grass with her cat-like stealthy moves – cool wet dog.
Reader feedback / comments always welcome:
I had a rant that I was going to share with you, but after writing it out I sounded ridiculous.... Situation was that I was on a poll training session for the Ontario elections........ instructor mid 40's talking to a class of average age mid 60's in such a way that felt like it was disrespectful...started off with "we are all adults here...." and it went on.... My rant was long, but I think that that statement made the whole experience so annoying. Like a customer service person on the phone calling me by my first name. Or, when I say thank you I get a response "no problem". All irk me..... I am not old fashioned.... well maybe to this generation.... But geez....where did respect go.... where did "you're welcome" go...... Thank you for letting me rant.... NL, Lanark, ON
