Essence

Well, that title is misleading! My intent is to write a bit about what we are. Who are you? Who am I? Of what value are any of us? And how do we come by any value, the worthiness of a person?

For me, I think I am what I think. I am also what I do. Something comes into being because my mind creates thoughts, ideas. My activity has some sort of value. Like work, I get paid – or used to before I retired – and that work created something left behind. If the work was intellectual, left behind were ideas taught, coached or written. Spoken ideas can be remembered by others and that is a residue of my existence.

Product of my hands is a residue, too. Tasks accomplished. Clean laundry. Clean house. Clean car. Orderly office. Meals made in the kitchen and tasted, eaten, supporting healthy living for those partaking of the meals. Don’t be mistaken, I am no cook; I do prepare meals of a sort these days, but I am not the chef or cook that brings them into being. No, I warm things up, cool things down, portion them out, and set a table for eating the meal. We live another day to do the same thing again. Without the meal, there would eventually be no next day.

I write newsletters for an organization and a homeowner’s association. I have done this with other organizations and HOA’s, as well. I have written articles in trade journals when someone asked me to explain something or other, and I did just that. Readership may have been 50 or 15,000. In one journal,300,000 readers regularly read the publication. One time some of us created a community newspaper, a weekly. We did this for 8 years and wrote about our community in all of its many aspects. It was fun, rewarding, and somehow very, very human. Our souls were in that paper. Our readers reacted and supported that soul. Now, the paper gone, only memories are left. But in its time, the paper was a tangible residue of our work, and its memory is another type of residue now.

Residues. Residual essence of existence. Of what value is this? I suspect not much on one hand, and a whole lot on the other hand. Why it has value depends on the person involved. Value exists if the person respects and values it.

Whether the activity is paid for makes no difference as to its value. A choir singing an anthem or hymn in a church has value to the worshippers. A chorus singing an oratorio or opera is of value to both the performers and the audience. The music is a miracle of creativity. Of beauty. Of inspiration. Yes, it has value. How many dollars I won’t even hazard a guess.

Sitting in a room with strangers and existing side by side has some value as well. Being witness of creation and others has value. When awaiting a doctor’s appointment, the others are in the same waiting area doing the same thing. Their lives are worthy of waiting, of visiting the doctor, of being diagnosed or treated for an illness. If that weren’t of value none of us would be there. Meanwhile, we while away the time until our appointment happens. We give succor and support to each other. We are on mission and there for a reason. It is a residue of activity. It has essence, value.

So, maybe this topic today does not have zip or dash. But I think it has value to have said it. Who is to say?

December 29, 2022

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more