I received an e-mail a couple of days ago from a relative informing me that someone in our extended family passed away this week. My family has certainly had our share of deaths in recent years. My dad passed away in 2000. My grandma passed away in 2002. My aunt died last year. And now another relative is gone.
As death often does, it has made my family more contemplative than normal. I traded e-mails with one relative this week and I signed off by saying, "Ever get the feeling that life is stuck on fast forward? Our family dynamics seem to change with each passing month and I keep looking for the 'stop' button, but I pretty sure there isn't one."
I asked for and received permission to post her response. I thought it was perfect: "The dynamics of our family and life in general do keep changing. I find national and global issues of great interest—but find I have less and less a grasp on them. Over the last year, I have been trying more to focus on my small sphere where my actions may have an impact on those around me—rather like a pebble tossed into a lake. My intention is that the impact is a good one."
Isn't that good? Here was my response to her: "You know what's funny? I've come to the same conclusions you have over the past year. You and I come from different sides of the political debate, and I believe that the debates are important and need to occur (in as civil a manner as possible), but the older I get, the more I have a desire to focus on my own small sphere. It seems like most of life is lived there anyway, or at the very least, it ought to be. This is the reason I started my blog called Little Nuances last year—a big change considering I was writing a political blog before that…but living life with a smaller perspective tends to soften the edges a little—at least I hope that's the case for me."
