There was an excellent article in the NY Times today, written by a man whose Mom has Alzheimer's and how he was trying to cope with it in a less sad and terrible way. The link to the article is at the bottom and it is really worth reading. He tried to join his mother in her randomly wacky moments and in doing so he found that the disease had moments that were less scary, less frustrating and less sad.
I have been thinking a lot about time and memory lately. Turning 65 makes you think about every malady that could occur: Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer, stroke, heart disease, death by gray hair. It also makes you think about every good thing that you want to do and it makes you promise yourself that you will do some of them: travel, join the gym (once you are confident you know where you will be residing,) eat better, drink better (not less,) travel more, read better books, walk faster, travel to Paris, look at the sky more often and, finally, travel. (Theme?)
Time and money. And plans. And memory. Joseph Campbell said "We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Life is the only thing that is next. That life, that one that is waiting for us, is just out there. It is all there is, that life. The past is that: over. Memories are good tools to keep us in touch with the past but life is what's out there.
So, when you lose those memories, when Alzheimer's sets in, where is your future? Where is that life? What is left?
And why?
Just me, thinking. Here is the link, this is a very good article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/opinion/sunday/my-mother-lost-and-found.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
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