Just Visiting or Do I Live Here?
Some People Have Years and Some Old Age
I do not know about you, but I am very bummed out that it is September. I mean, where did this summer go? I think it was here a moment ago. Now, all of a sudden, the pace picks up and the new program or academic year begins. NOT READY! In the Jewish world this month has special meaning. It is the last month of the Hebrew calendar called Elul. It is the month that leads up to the new year season of Rosh Hoshonnah and Yom Kippur (end of September this year). It is a month in which there is the call to examine our life and begin to set goals for who we wish to become in the coming year, This is serious business for, as we all know, the older we get, the choices we have to make become more challenging and the consequences of those choices become more dear. This is also a time when we reflect on all that has happened to us in the past year and the life that we have lived.
I was thinking a lot about this as my congregation has had a run of deaths of younger people. I was struck in the reflections of the families, of how they understood that, despite the short number of years that a person had been alive, they lived life, made something of themselves, contributed to the world and thus left it a better place. It reminded me of a passage in our tradition which noted that some people have years and some old age; as if to say that some people grab life, embrace it and live it to the fullest; while others seem to be just visiting, content to get by day by day.
Part of our ability to continue to embrace life and live it is manifest through our desire and ability to never stop learning; for as we learn more we come to understand that we are part of a greater universe and the need for our involvement in that world becomes more clear. To keep on growing and evolving we need to keep asking questions and be willing to take risks. There was a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times by David Brooks called "The Question-Driven Life" (New York Times. August 19, 2011. p. A21) Brooks wrote of Philip Leakey, he of the famous Leakey family of scholars and paleonthropologists. Brooks described Leakey's life in the wild, being part of nature and thus, understanding that nothing remains still and that change is part of life. At the end of the article he quotes Richard Holbrooke as having said:
"Know something about something. Don't just present your wonderful self to the world. Constantly amass knowledge and offer it around."That seems to be a pretty good piece of advice for all of us. Don't just be content with being a visitor in your own life. GO out and grab it, live it. Keep on learning and asking and experiencing its endless opportunity. Be with people, and in doing so, we will continue to grow and flourish. It does not matter how many years you have lived; just the spirit we bring to the years we have left.
Shalom, Rabbi Richard F Address, D.Min
Visit Jewish Sacred Aging to learn more.
Published September 4, 2011
