Sunday, December 18, 2016

Is This All There Is?

“The real question is, is there life before death?”

~Alan Cohen~


“There is just one life for each of us: our own.” 

~ Euripides~


Just this week, I had the honor of attending the funeral of a man who, perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever known, earned the right to ask, “Is this all there is?”  And yet, he never did.  A three-year battle with ALS forced him to leave a career he loved.  ALS took a strapping, strong man and confined him to a wheel chair.  It eventually did what it does to all people with ALS.  It killed him, leaving behind a wife, two daughters, parents, and a brotherhood that loved him.

But Tracy didn’t ask that question.  He took the disease head on.  He gave thanks that it was he that was diagnosed, and not others with less of a support mechanism.  He stayed involved.  He helped raise local awareness of this crippling, fatal disease, and he professed his faith to the bitter end. 

Admittedly, I don’t share Tracy’s same faith in a “savior” nor do I share in the same belief of a hereafter: heaven, if you will.  But I have been faced with that same question for much lesser reasons, and most times, chose to look for more rather than fight.  “Is this all there is?” I’d ask.  “There must be more than just this.  I have to find it,” was very nearly always my answer.

It’s a “grass is always greener” scenario, and most of us already know how that plays out.  It’s no surprise, the grass is nearly always greener where you water it. 

Now, I don’t live my life with much regret.  Perhaps I should.  But, that serves no real purpose.  I have been wired, conditioned, or taught, for whatever reason, to “seek.”  I have, on numerous occasions, taken the path less traveled for the sake of finding out if this is, indeed, all there is.  And I do have an answer that works for me.   Yes, this is all there is.

Perhaps you’re in a place where you’re asking yourself that same question.  Maybe you’re sitting around the dinner table with a wife and two children.  It’s loud, chaotic, and mundane.  That “spark” is gone from your marriage, or you feel tied down, or your dreams are slipping away.  Maybe you’re feeling underappreciated at work.  Or maybe it’s you who has been diagnosed with a crippling or fatal illness and you’re wondering, “Why me?”

If you know me at all, you know I don’t profess to know the answers for you.  Sadly, only you can know what rests well with your spirit.  But before you go looking for whatever there is beyond “this,” be sure you’ve looked ahead far enough to consider the cost.  Venturing out for greener pastures can mean heartache, loneliness, holidays without family, unemployment, unrest, and much more.  It can also mean liberation, freedom, excitement, and a renewed sense of adventure.  Again, only you can answer that one.  And you may not know for sure until you try. 

Here is what I know for certain, no matter who you are.  This is all there is.  It is.  This relationship, this car, this spouse, this job, this house, this life is all there is.  So you can stop asking that question if you wish.  It’s been asked and answered over and over again.  The real question, before you decide to stay or venture out in search of greener pastures is,

“What I am going to do with it?”