Life Is Precious + I Live in the World
Ever since I heard it three years ago, in an interview with Jonathan Safran-Foer on Fresh Air, I've orbited this thing Safran-Foer said about the paradox we live in that looks like this: life is precious, and I live in the world. He described these two mindsets/frameworks as two sides of the same page and our lived experience as the tension between them.
Life is precious beckons us to be in a constant state of heightened appreciation, presence, and selflessness. The preciousness of life isn't something we connect to in every minute of every day; rather, we catch glimpses of it when we experience the highs and lows in life–celebrations, death, major transitions. I live in the world tethers us to the reality of our responsibilities and commitments–the stuff we believe keeps our world intact and in motion.
I taped the two slips of paper pictured above on the window by my desk last week because I thought the quote from Stephen Colbert was oddly timely for a "thought-of-the-day" calendar printed long before the pandemic arrived, and the other one because it makes me laugh. When I handed my phone to Michael, confessing that I couldn't figure out how to turn it back on, he turned it back on by pressing the very same button I'd tried to use. What's written on that scrap of paper, "You just have to hold it a little longer than you want....It takes about five seconds," is what he said to me, with kindness, not sarcasm–and yet, it shone a painfully bright light on how I'm doing in the patience department.
Sitting down to write to you, in our third homebound week, I looked at that window and, saw it plain as day: life is precious (things change, everything is temporary–the dark and the light), and I live in the world (with its relentless demand that I prove my worth through productivity, and that I do it fast). Here we are, living this paradox–maybe a bit more intensely–in the midst of a global pandemic.
If you're sensing this friction more intensely right now, you're not the only one. If you need evidence of that, or you just want to hear how other people are coping, give one of these short podcasts a listen:
On my walk with the dog this morning, I listened to Krista Tippett address a listener question about how to feel like staying home is "doing enough" if you're plagued with the notion that "helpful" is part of your purpose and worth in the world. I didn't find her answer totally satisfying, but I was glad to hear her considering the question.
Then, while I made breakfast, I listened to an episode of Death, Sex & Money with voice memos from essential workers on the front lines that perfectly encapsulates the heightened tension between life's precious nature and the demands of living in the world.
