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May 17, 2008
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Mr. Rogers' song comes to mind as I contemplate this Saturday. There's a light northerly breeze, temp in the high 60s / low 70s, birds are singing, I've cleaned the house for the prospective buyers coming at 12:15, and I solved the 6 star Sudoku (Saturday's is always the hardest). The next 24 hours is the calm before the storm. There is an open house tomorrow afternoon, so everything has to stay pristine until it's over at 3:30 -- but then the house-packing begins in earnest. I'm ready.
As I was sorting through more papers yesterday, I kept thinking about WHY these things should matter. Aren't we the sum total of our experiences; and after we go, isn't our totality at the time of encounter what we pass on to those whose lives we've touched? If so, why should letters from 20, 30, 40 years ago matter? Haven't they already been incorporated into who I am? The ones that have made the most impact or been the most symbolically important are surely reflected in who I am today. The ones that are tangential have not been internalized, so why should I feel that they are important now anyway? Is my narrative about all these pieces of paper? I don't think so. My narrative is just me, as I am transformed from day to day. And I'm not the sum total of my experiences, because I am transformed as each new experience is incorporated (or not) into my evolving narrative. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.
I googled "the sum of our experiences" and got almost 13 million hits. I think this reflects the universality of the human experience. The blogosphere has made it possible for people to read the perspectives of others they will never meet -- perhaps folks on the other side of the world, or writing in another language -- and see their own concerns and insights reflected in those of others. That has surely been true for me. It's exciting and humbling all at once.
And happy 23rd birthday to Mark today. I'm sad to be leaving him; but he's found a direction, and that is so exciting to see.
Posted by hgroteva at May 17, 2008 10:30 AM | Minnesota | Moving