2008 Woodie Awards
Coming to grips with the facts of life
Max Lux
Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: Op/Ed
- Page 1 of 1
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, well, your parents are going to die. My parents are going to die, as well. Hell, all of our parents are going to die; It's a terrible but true fact of life. Also, it is a topic rarely touched upon by our generation aside from the most immediate and unfortunate of occasions.
So why bring it up? Why instigate a line of thoroughly negative and wholly depressing thinking that will surely dampen the otherwise jubilant throes of your daily collegiate frivolity? I do so because to consider the mortality of one's progenitors brings a certain amount of clarity and purpose to one's own life.
If, like me, your parents were instrumental and present for the majority, if not entirety, of your upbringing, than undoubtedly a level of imprinting has taken place in the form of a seemingly unbreakable familial bond. You may notice striking similarities in the personalities of yourself and your parents, even physical resemblances- not to mention the incomparable level of history and memories your share with them.
Chances are, few individuals can ever hope to match the level of intuitive understanding and intimate knowledge we share with those who birthed and raised us, and the possibility of that bond being lost is truly devastating and almost insurmountable. Our parents are our last and most unbreakable line of defense: their experience and nurturing offers solutions to even the most impossible of problems. The love you share with them is the most pure and everlasting you will ever experience. And yet, they are, inevitably, going to die.
What can you do when presented with this information? How could you even begin to comprehend and cope with the demise of your first, your best, your most beloved of friends? Surely there will be a loss of self, a feeling that your parents have defined part of your being, your sense of self, and with their loss, that piece may seem forever lost.
Hopefully this won't happen for many, many years to come, and the decades to come will be filled with wonderful and lasting memories. However, it is best to begin the journey of self-affirmation and separation as soon as possible, not only to offset the inevitable questioning of identity, but also to grow as your own individual and prepare for your independent future.
This is not an avocation to call your family and say goodbye, or any associated idiocy, merely a suggestion to think about the uncertainty of the future. We are mortal, all of us, the thread that holds us to this world tenuous and frail.
To make the most of our existences, our short periods of time as residents of the corporeal plain, we must recognize the impermanence of everything around us -- our primary concerns are the development of ourselves as individuals, not allowing the rapidly disintegrating universe to dictate our thoughts or actions to any totality. After all, we've all been dying since the day we've been born.
So why bring it up? Why instigate a line of thoroughly negative and wholly depressing thinking that will surely dampen the otherwise jubilant throes of your daily collegiate frivolity? I do so because to consider the mortality of one's progenitors brings a certain amount of clarity and purpose to one's own life.
If, like me, your parents were instrumental and present for the majority, if not entirety, of your upbringing, than undoubtedly a level of imprinting has taken place in the form of a seemingly unbreakable familial bond. You may notice striking similarities in the personalities of yourself and your parents, even physical resemblances- not to mention the incomparable level of history and memories your share with them.
Chances are, few individuals can ever hope to match the level of intuitive understanding and intimate knowledge we share with those who birthed and raised us, and the possibility of that bond being lost is truly devastating and almost insurmountable. Our parents are our last and most unbreakable line of defense: their experience and nurturing offers solutions to even the most impossible of problems. The love you share with them is the most pure and everlasting you will ever experience. And yet, they are, inevitably, going to die.
What can you do when presented with this information? How could you even begin to comprehend and cope with the demise of your first, your best, your most beloved of friends? Surely there will be a loss of self, a feeling that your parents have defined part of your being, your sense of self, and with their loss, that piece may seem forever lost.
Hopefully this won't happen for many, many years to come, and the decades to come will be filled with wonderful and lasting memories. However, it is best to begin the journey of self-affirmation and separation as soon as possible, not only to offset the inevitable questioning of identity, but also to grow as your own individual and prepare for your independent future.
This is not an avocation to call your family and say goodbye, or any associated idiocy, merely a suggestion to think about the uncertainty of the future. We are mortal, all of us, the thread that holds us to this world tenuous and frail.
To make the most of our existences, our short periods of time as residents of the corporeal plain, we must recognize the impermanence of everything around us -- our primary concerns are the development of ourselves as individuals, not allowing the rapidly disintegrating universe to dictate our thoughts or actions to any totality. After all, we've all been dying since the day we've been born.