I can’t seem to help skipping a day or two these days. It’s a cliché, because it’s true (cliches usually are; that’s whey they’re clichés), there aren’t enough hours in the day, some days, most days. And as the days chug along I keep having more and more reactions to things that I want to write about. Yesterday, for example, I attended a memorial tribute to a writer friend who left us two or three years ago but who died only a few weeks ago. (They shoot horses, don’t they? And dogs are put down. But that’s another discussion, one that few people are ready to tackle.) I go to many more “tributes” or “celebrations” these days than funerals. Funerals are held in churches followed by a reception afterwards in the “parlour” or in the deceased’s home. Celebrations are held in public (semi-public, small or large depending on the fame and financial status of the departed), with wine (free or cash bar) and finger foods, like a party. Secular, to say the least. With so many lifestyles and belief systems to choose from these days, there don’t seem to be many universal words of comfort available.
It can no longer be taken for granted that the dear departed was a man of honour or a woman of faith. Core values are obscured or unrecognizable, if indeed, they ever existed. If the person being sent off with a toast and a fare-thee-well led a less than exemplary life, the sad or reprehensible facts of that life are not mentioned. Instead, we are offered cute or amusing anecdotes or/and a roster of worldly achievements. Of course, no one one ever mentions the immortal soul.
Are souls immortal these days?
Bodies aren’t.
And what about those core values? Google to the rescue:
Here are some examples of core values from which you may wish to choose:
Dependability.
Reliability.
Loyalty.
Commitment.
Open-mindedness.
Consistency.
Honesty.
Efficiency.
Sounds like Boy Scout qualities.
Readers sent in comments on core values. What about love? What about God? What about morals?
What are morals and where can i get some?
“A person who knows the difference between right and wrong and chooses right is moral. A person whose morality is reflected in his willingness to do the right thing – even if it is hard or dangerous – is ethical. Ethics are moral values in action.'“
in other words: moral is as moral does. Perhaps not something to juggle with a glass of wine and a potato chip. I can’t deal with this in a blog.
The old order changeth
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
I have liv’d my life, and that which I have done
May He within himself make pure.
With that, I’l leave you. Another day, another blog.