The Big Picture, a la Mama
Some things are meant to be shared. While my mom certainly didn’t intend for this email passage to be one of those things, I want to offer a chance to understand what I’ve been lucky to grow up with, and to take a piece of it for yourselves.
“When it is all said and done, who you are, why you lived your life, the relationships you develop, the integrity and honor by which you define yourself...why can you not believe that goodness wills outward? That what happens is for the best, that life is inherently good and that we can only make a difference by what positive thoughts and hope we bring to our loved ones? Why wouldn’t that be the better testimonial to living than being the consummate worrier that may predict every fear but fail to appreciate the life one has? It is by miracle we are here; it is by miracle that we survive; it is by miracle that we have the opportunity to make a positive difference. Succinctly, by being a good person, you define your world and live a life well done – that is the simple truth. All else obfuscates the beauty and the purity of life’s essence.”
My mom went on to evaluate the culturally-relative qualifiers of a “good” person, as I can only expect her Human Biology-trained brain to do. Also, let me assure you that she remains the eternal optimist throughout her own share of real pain, i.e. not a voice to disregard as naiive or sheltered from life’s shitstorms.
I wanted to share her words because of their message, but also because of how I received them. Unsolicited, she put this in my inbox on a day when I was having a solo sadsack fiesta and needed a kick in the pants of the philosophical, big picture sort. That’s the kind of mom, the kind of human, that she is every day.
When goodness is lacking, she fills the void. And it’s sure to arrive with her classic combination of hilarity, toughness, and unconditional love.
