In front of an old Victorian House, near the corner of 24th and Lyndale Avenue, in Uptown Minneapolis, stands a chalkboard with the words, "Before I Die". A piece of chalk and a series of blanks is all that is required for the public to respond with their public declarations. Anonymously, I picked up the chalk and decided to write over a wish that had been faded out by the sun and the rain.
Some of the responses appear to be simple, like falling in love. However, as we get older, perhaps we find that we either didn't make time for love or we realize that we had it, but were so damn busy with the things that other people said were so damn important. The lucky ones, have their priorities straight.
Others are dreams that require action, to either acquire or do something. Some dreams require action from another, "becoming a grandmother" was a good example.
Other dreams were more abstract, with changing definitions, such as being happy or successful. Others had dreams of public recognition while others had more simple dreams, like being away from the city and being in a log cabin in the woods. We don't want the same things, but what we all share is that knowledge that we don't have forever.
This morning, I saw a man with a quote from E.E. Cummings on his shirt. "It takes great courage to grow up and become who you really are." Before I die I want to...hmm, perhaps, I don't want to want. Perhaps I will already have been so I will be ready to die and will not be afraid to close my eyes when I do go. I think I am comforted by the thought that we are not here, in this form, forever. We are always changing and who I am today may only be a glimmer of who I am tomorrow. The same should be thought of every single person that is encountered during this journey, and what a journey it is.
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