Get busy living

I have always liked that line spoken by Morgan Freeman in the movie Shawshank Redemption: "Get busy living or get busy dying." We always have a choice, don't we? We can get on with life, despite the obstacles, real or imagined, we encounter each day. Or we can acknowledge to ourselves that we just don't want to play anymore, throw in the towel, and focus on the end. Either way, better to be honest with ourselves, in my opinion - to do otherwise is to dishonor life.

Over the past year I've found multiple obstacles in my path - the prospect of losing Fig being one of them. At times I have felt overwhelmed, and briefly wondered if it wouldn't just be easier to give up and retreat to a smaller existence, one more familiar and safe, even if it amounted to the existential equivalent of treading water. Thankfully, a small but persistent voice inside always calls me back to the path, and friends - including Fig - have provided encouragement, whether consciously or not. Fig is dying, but he is focused on life each waking moment. How can one not be inspired by his example?

So let me raise my glass to Fig, for he is indeed living every drop of his Life, and in doing so, lights the path for others. L'chaim, Fig!