Slip slidin’ away!
#30: 100-words on all that we've collected on the journey including the journey itself
Slip slidin’ away!
I picked up a worm heading for my lettuce, “Where’re you headed?
“Looking for food,” he answered
“Why?”
“Was born yesterday. Today I’m fattening up for my beloved. Tomorrow, we’ll have babies. Then die.”
“Living only three days?!”
“I’ve had my mother’s love, learned to forage, slid down waxy leaves, inhaled reeking humus, drank grassy dew, basked in morning’s gold, hummed with beetles, rolled under a dog’s breath… and fallen in love! Is there more?”
“Let me bring you lettuce and save you time.”
“Nah! I love the journey, all that arrives…”
I let him go. And renewed my journey.
###
reena | 01-19-2024
Pure fiction, of course! The foraging worm and his puny lifecycle, came from listening to a Andrew Huberman podcast (with Dr. Oded Rechavi: Genes & the Inheritance of Memories Across Generations) in which they discussed a nematode C. Elegans, which lives only three days. And does none of what I imagine above, least of all, talk back to a lost human.
But it got me wondering — at first hubris about our own lifespans, and then this thought: How do we know? Maybe the 3-day worms have it all figured out. After all, despite our obsession with longevity, shouldn’t we attach more significance to how we live vs. how long we live?
More on that thought in this past post in case you missed it:
What do you think?
I love this little story, Reena, and your comments following it. It really resonated with me as yesterday I left a voice message for my closest high school friend who is dying from ALS. I imagine her with a smile on her face and her thinking about joining her husband who passed away last month. After a good life, leaving it with a smile is good, too.
Absolutely loved thsi!! "Is there more?" - truly.