Thinking About Living Today
April 27, 2011
I have finished my bagel and sit staring at my keyboard. I am thinking about living today.
At the table across from me are 3 doctors who have met for coffee. They are talking shop; I hear snatches of their conversation; “My stenographers hate the way I mumble”, “1.6 % of Medicare….”, “You’ve got to trust your system…” They nod and laugh. They do important work. What’s more important than your health?
But I wonder, in my odd way… they are thinking about living today…but are they living? They are smart – judging from their medical degrees. They are pleasant – judging from their easy laughter. They are proactive – judging from their smooth transition into planning a new business venture. Yes, they smart, pleasant, proactive and successful – but are they living?
The young doctor on the left makes a point, gesturing with his right hand, cradling his coffee with his left. I could not hear what he said, but I find myself nodding in agreement with his intelligent, understated manner. He completes his point with an intelligent, understated sip of coffee. I feel certain that he was correct in what he said, but I’m not certain at all that he tasted his coffee.
I wonder. I am in life. I am in meetings all the time – smart, pleasant, proactive meetings about important things. In fact, I make my living in meetings about living. But do I taste life? Do I cradle my given-life, raise it to my face and slowly breathe in the aroma? Yes, I think about living – but do I live?
