With Mothers Day just having passed and another important date coming up for me tomorrow I remembered an essay I was given in my Philosophy 101 class I took in college. The class itself I couldn't stand and was required for my degree, so I valiantly attended every class only to hide in the back and sleep as much as I could. I never really was very big on philosophy plus the professor liked to tie in a lot of religion into it and only looked to be a few years older then I was. Did I mention she was a bitch? Well one day I got to class early to grab my preferred seat in the back corner to find her passing out a sheet of paper at each seat. When I grabbed my seat and prepared my jacket to be used as a pillow she looked at me and handed me the sheet of paper only to say "You might want to stay awake for this one David, I think you might enjoy it." I hated that she called me David because the first day of class she went around and asked me to talk about myself and if I preferred Dave and I said yes. I think she did it on purpose. Calling me David is definitely not the way to make me stay awake in your class, and so I went back to my pillow making procedure. Once the class was filled she went on to take attendance and told us to flip over the paper at our desk and this is what I saw...
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember to say "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
What can I say it was pretty interesting, and not the normal boring religious philosophy that she liked to rattle on about for an hour and ten minutes. What came next had to be the reason she thought i'd find it interesting because she asked if we could guess who had written that essay. All the kiss ass' in the front started shouting out philosophers that we had learned about, Saint Thomas Aquinas! Kierkegaard! Nietzsche! The teacher just laughed. She finally gave in and with a smile told us it was George Carlin. I don't know if I was more surprised at the asshat who said "Who?" or the fact that before I remembered I was sitting in class I called out "Bullshit!" The teacher just laughed and said it was true and showed us the original copy that said it was by Carlin. After class I went home and did a search to see if she was right, she wasn't. I knew the man who taught me the essentials in cleaning myself (assholes, armpits, crotch, and teeth) couldn't have written that. Not to say hes not capable but I just don't see him doing it. Apparently it was written as a sermon by a Dr. Bob Moorehead, seriously, who was a pastor in Seattle until he was forced to retire after being accused of touching little boys. My reason for knowing this essay aside it really does speak volumes about us and how our generation lives because it's all true.
I also wanted to share a quote from a movie that I absolutely love because it's along the same lines as the essay from above, just a little more recent and comedic.
Here's to Bavarian sugar cookies!
As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be OK. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies.
And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction.
And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And, so it was, a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.
From an amazing an underrated movie called Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell, check it out if you haven't seen it you'll thank me. If you have to take anything away from reading the essay and movie quote I hope you realize not to take anything for granted, stop and smell the roses, tell your friends and family how much they mean to you as often as you can, and to live life to the fullest, because it's the only one you get. ∞
