Saturday, September 9, 2023

Better the Flight of the Bird

    Better the flight of the bird that passes and leaves no trace

    Than the passage of the animal, recorded in the ground.

    The bird passes and is forgotten, which is how it should be,

    The animal, no longer there and so of no further use,

    Uselessly shows it was there.


    Remembrance is a betrayal of Nature,

    Because yesterday's Nature isn't Nature.

    What was is nothing, and to remember is not to see.


    Pass by bird, pass, and teach me to pass!

                          Fernando Pessoa (as Alberto Caeiro)


Or, as Marcus Aurelius would remind us, soon you will have forgotten the world and the world will have forgotten you. Yeah, eventually I'll push through this mood, and I'm definitely wallowing in it too much as of late. The other day my wonderful friend MK sent me a note which read, "No matter what happens with your balance or your body or any of that shit, know that you are still the awesome funny, kind, thoughtful friend you've always been and none of this bullshit will change that. Love you." I told him that I couldn't accurately express how much I loved his note, and how much I clearly needed to hear what I didn't know I needed to hear.


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