I love this essay. And it hit upon something I've been mulling over recently: how comforting it can be to read about, to talk about, these mortal coils. It's such an antidote to the “hustle culture” and "self improvement" industry that surrounds me. I crave a good momento mori.
LOVED this one, Lisa. "The most delicious revelation of my middle age is the slow death of the fear of death." - I've finally gotten closer to this particular death. I want to have a good long talk with you about when the "middle" ends.
An anecdote that I thought of after reading this post: My best friend's husband, 82, was shopping in Trader Joe's and asked for help finding the organic tofu. A guy brushes by with his cart and snarls out of the side of his mouth, "What? You want to live forever?"
“today I’ll wear the salmon socks with the purple shoes, maybe the birdcage earrings. I’ll raise a glass of pink wine and try to make someone smile. Better angels, and all that. The eyes hold it, but the rest is jest till the curtain falls.” So beautiful. Today at the community center, I helped a woman who had come straight from the pool find the rest room she was looking for. She was dripping with pool water and said, “sorry, this is my first time here.” And I was so happy to point out the toilet stalls, around a hidden corner. I had a sad morning and forced myself to go to the gym. After encountering the woman I thought: “What if the whole point of my day was to help someone find the toilet?” That would actually be more important than any of my other self-important ideas of what I “should be doing” that day… ❤️🔥
Death and the Clown
I love this essay. And it hit upon something I've been mulling over recently: how comforting it can be to read about, to talk about, these mortal coils. It's such an antidote to the “hustle culture” and "self improvement" industry that surrounds me. I crave a good momento mori.
Fabulous, Lisa! Beautifully written x
LOVED this one, Lisa. "The most delicious revelation of my middle age is the slow death of the fear of death." - I've finally gotten closer to this particular death. I want to have a good long talk with you about when the "middle" ends.
An anecdote that I thought of after reading this post: My best friend's husband, 82, was shopping in Trader Joe's and asked for help finding the organic tofu. A guy brushes by with his cart and snarls out of the side of his mouth, "What? You want to live forever?"
“today I’ll wear the salmon socks with the purple shoes, maybe the birdcage earrings. I’ll raise a glass of pink wine and try to make someone smile. Better angels, and all that. The eyes hold it, but the rest is jest till the curtain falls.” So beautiful. Today at the community center, I helped a woman who had come straight from the pool find the rest room she was looking for. She was dripping with pool water and said, “sorry, this is my first time here.” And I was so happy to point out the toilet stalls, around a hidden corner. I had a sad morning and forced myself to go to the gym. After encountering the woman I thought: “What if the whole point of my day was to help someone find the toilet?” That would actually be more important than any of my other self-important ideas of what I “should be doing” that day… ❤️🔥
Quite beautiful, Lisa. And so very true. Is this clown on SM? I'd like to follow along if he is.