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| I was in the waning months of the bad 2nd marriage that brought two years earlier brought me back to Calgary after 27 yrs in Edmonton; it was the day before we were booked for a Trip to Toronto, New York and Washington for a conference in Washington and some Broadway fun in the big apple; it was ‘Tuesday morning meeting’ day when colleagues and I were in early to rehearse a client pitch role-play at a sales meeting. Odd, it was, that others were in the boardroom early, and with the TV on. We, like so many millions of spectators watched a disaster movie of real life play out, absorbing memories that affect us long after the movie ends.
The decade that followed is something that is still too up-close to fully appreciate the way historians might in the decades to come.
Mixed feelings, for me, as citizen of the world or just here, in my private domain.
Political and media rhetoric, financial fallout, re-staging of world order, re-casting so many roles in this melodrama on the world stage. We learned new words – like rendition, water-boarding, shoe-bomber, multi-syllable words and names no tongue should have to ever stretch around, And, more recently, terms like Arab-spring, double-dip recession and shovel-ready. Are all things that are messed up, part of one mess? Or too many messes for the ordinary person to decipher? Or care about? Or solve? And, does it matter?
All leaders on all sides are changed, deposed, dead or marginalized – replaced by newbies with fresh foibles to surprise us all. The leaders have all changed, but we followers – are we not the same?
This frenetic short week, mix of still chugging bumping into two successive long-day exhaustion has me sitting still this Friday morning, remembering a decade from a different perspective. I don’t mean about 9/11. I’ll write more about that on the 11th. But, for now, I am wondering how many of us can look back on the last ten years – this past decade, and see it a bookended time in our lives, still fresh in memory, perhaps too up-close to fully appreciate just yet. But we have to, don’t we? There will be no historians writing text-books about our life events, our economy, our strategies, our international relationships and our response to terror.
I’m neither trying to be profound or scientific, but isn’t this something we all share?
A decade ago, an unprecedented event occurred. For people in jungle huts or desert islands there might be a different view. But, aren’t most people on earth able to recall – at least in general terms – how life has been over the last 10 yrs. Is it better, or worse? Is it wiser, more holistic, more spiritual, more evolved, greener, richer, poorer, happier, or not?
In some respects, I’d like the last decade back. There are a number of things I’d do very differently if I had the chance. I don’t know if I’d have that view on any of my other decades, but I do on this one.
I think I’ve learned more about myself and others in the past 10 years than before. My view of life is more optimistic than ever, but math and an actuary would convince me there is more of life behind me than in front of me.
Maybe that’s the magic of mid-life experience; not of crisis as it is so often named, but of being able to see forward in a better way because we have so much more history to review and consider, each ten year interval/chapter acting as one more wise mentor.
. . . of being able to peer into the distance, hoping to not see the edge for a long time, but knowing it is up ahead – like a canoeist watching the river water characteristics for clues there are rapids up ahead.
So many people we know – on a much smaller scale suffer surprise attacks of grave consequences. Buildings don’t tumble and planes don’t crash, but the impact on lives and equilibrium on individuals and families is no less traumatic in the moment or catastrophic over time.
Our lives are, collectively, or alone – completely transformed by events we don’t cause, or do we? Or are they?
Like 9/11, still too many questions, too few answers we can be certain of.
And, it goes on.
Mark Kolke
309,668
Comments Received:
GLANCING BLOWS
Was it something I said? Am I the one who hurt your feelings???, MB, North Vancouver, BC
Good morning. Yesterday broke stupendous. No sugar cane fires and the vog was absent as well, so the mountains were clear and crisp, the morning light ending the ridges and leaving valleys a dark prussian blue. Everyone was talking about the gorgeous day, near strangers, old friends, new friends....the glory of this sweet island uniting us. This lovely day, was welcome since there was rampant pandemonium elsewhere in my life. So, I read your column this morning about reordering priorities and know you wrote it just for me (okay, me and 9000 of your other friends). And as soon as life settles a wee bit, I'm going to examine my life priorities and make sure that what I do is necessary, good and actually what I meant. But, as D____ the cat veterinarian says "at least I am upright and ventilated!", FO, Kula, HI
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