What it all boils down to is so simple that you can be forgiven for wondering whether all those years of therapy, that Master's degree in philosophy, or those spiritual retreats at the spas were worth the trouble.
It turns out that life is short. So enjoy the moment, pursue your passions. There is no other secret. Respect all life around you.
You probably heard some version of these truisms from your mother or maybe a wizened mentor along the way, but something always led you to discount the simple advice. The life that you aspired to live was supposed to be much more complicated than that, right?
In my case I did none of those things, save for the therapy, and I didn't have any particular aspirations that I can recall now. But I do know that it is a blessing to work with people who do, like entrepreneurs chasing their dreams. Or to comfort friends after their greatest dreams have been crushed. The blessing is to be there when it matters.
Most people I know go through decades and decades of living like it is going to go on forever, and ultimately pile up a long list of regrets by the time they realize it is not.
I once started a screenplay with a line I was very proud of at the time; "There are two kinds of regret. Regret for things that you did. Regret for things you didn't do. And I'm not sure at this point which is worse."
Obviously I was creating a character who was looking back on his life, seeking to explain it to himself, or perhaps to others.
Well, the movie never got made and the line has since been stolen, I'm sure, by somebody somewhere, but that's one of those things I don't really regret either. It was a great line at the time.
***
When I started publishing these daily essays at the beginning of the pandemic, the most common feedback I received was that my memories resonated with some people as sweet, nostalgic, even mournful.
I'm always grateful for feedback of any kind actually, but this seemed like an odd reaction to me. Since Facebook on a daily basis resurfaces those early essays to me as my "memories" (as if I could have forgotten them) I do see now why people may have thought I was looking backward when I wrote.
That is not the case. I try to only looking forward. If life is short, and it is -- way too short --why should I bother with the past when there is truly nothing I can do about it? Oh, I suppose one could issue a few apologies here or there, or get revenge on those who wronged us, or try to recreate our past glories.
But life truly is a bit too short for that.
My own past is littered with happiness, success, triumphs, failures, loss, and pain. Good and bad roughly in balance, you could say. For me, all of this is mushed together as a kind of gooey fuel that propels me forward as a writer.
In this context, I love the stories people tell in any form, however imperfect, and one that comes to mind is Ricky Nelson's plaintive ballad "Garden Party," where the '60s pop star recounted playing before a huge crowd in an attempted comeback at Madison Square Garden in 1972.
The concert was a disaster and the crowd booed him off the stage.
Or at least he thought they were booing him. It turns out they may have been booing the police who were controlling restive members of the crowd. But he didn't learn that until too late.
By then he had written and released the song, which was his version of that night -- that the crowd couldn't handle the fact that he had changed his look and his sound; in other words, that he had evolved. They were disoriented but he'd moved on from his role as a TV teen idol.
The best line in the song is "If memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck."
That turned out to be his last hit, but he kept performing it at bars and clubs and a few concert halls until he died at age 45 in a plane crash on the way to yet another New Year's Eve concert.
***
"If memories were all I wrote, I'd rather not write at all."
I said that.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* First sign of animal life on Earth may be a sponge fossil -- A Canadian geologist may have found the earliest fossil record of animal life on Earth, according to a report published Wednesday in the journal Nature. (AP)
* The Radical Courage of Simone Biles's Exit from the Team USA Olympic Finals (New Yorker)
* Pandemic takes toll on athlete mental health at Tokyo Games (Reuters)
* Mental health and physical health shouldn’t be seen as two separate entities. When Biles decided to look after her mental health, toxic people on the internet weighed in. But not a single person would bat an eye if Biles had to leave the Olympics because of a broken ankle, writes Lindsay Holmes. [HuffPost]
* Athlete support for Biles reflects growing awareness of mental health (Reuters)
* ‘A Peaceful Transfer of Power Didn’t Happen This Year’ -- The facts surrounding Jan. 6, 2021 - and the right-wing mythology. (NYT)
* Tuesday marked the first meeting of the House select committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with hours of emotional testimony about the mob of angry Donald Trump supporters that stormed the building and terrorized its occupants. Four law enforcement officers delivered intense and emotional testimony about the abuse they sustained that day and the trauma they still live with. [HuffPost]
* ‘Telling the Truth Shouldn’t Be Hard’: Officers Testify About Jan. 6 Riot -- Officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot testified to House lawmakers. The officers described in dramatic detail what they witnessed, and asked for a thorough investigation into what led to the attack. (NYT)
* Republicans offer varying reasons for opposing Jan. 6 investigation -- Republicans’ struggle to explain their near-blanket opposition to having Congress examine the causes and ramifications of the insurrection has left the party open to charges that it is avoiding a thorough investigation of the worst attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. (WP)
* After ducking the question multiple times, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) admitted on Fox News that he spoke to then-President Trump on Jan. 6, but he refused to disclose what they discussed. Jordan and other Republican allies to the former president could be potential witnesses to how Trump and his advisers were behaving during the attack. [HuffPost]
* U.S. Justice Dept. warns states to tread carefully in auditing elections (Reuters)
* As Infections Rise, C.D.C. Urges Some Vaccinated Americans to Wear Masks Again -- In communities with growing caseloads, vaccinated and unvaccinated people should return to wearing masks indoors in public areas, health officials said. (NYT)
* Google to require on-campus workers get vaccinated and delays return to the office until mid-October (WP)
* Biden Weighs Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers -- It would be a significant shift in approach by President Biden that reflects the government’s growing concern about the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. (NYT)
* Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine 'strongly' boosts protection against Delta variant (CNN)
* I.M.F. Sticks With 6 Percent Global Growth Forecast -- The International Monetary Fund said it expected the global economy to expand 6 percent this year, but warned that low vaccination rates in emerging economies may lead to a lopsided global recovery. (AP)
*What extreme heat does to the human body -- How climate change is making parts of the world too hot and humid to survive. (WP)
* Washington’s Most Powerful Oil Lobby Faces Reckoning on Climate Change (WSJ)
* San Francisco is attempting to seize control over Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s power lines in the city by petitioning the California Public Utilities Commission to study the value of PG&E’s local electric equipment. (San Francisco Chronicle)
* Residents flee as winds fan massive wildfire in southern Turkey (Reuters)
* Duolingo enters 'major leagues' with $6.5 billion valuation in strong debut (Reuters)
* The Los Angeles Times reported on sexual assault allegations against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, his long history of internet-based controversy, and the potential end of his career. (LAT)
* U.S. 'deeply troubled' by attacks on civilians as Taliban sweep across Afghanistan (Reuters)
* CDC Director Alarmed After Googling ‘Covid Cases’ For First Time in Weeks (The Onion)
***
"Garden Party"
Went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn't look the same
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn't look the same
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