day 83

 Today is the 6th day of the 12th week, the 24th day of the 3rd month, the 83rd day of 2023 [with only 275 shopping days left before Christmas], and

• International Day for Achievers
• International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for Dignity of Victims   ((imagine trying to come up with snappy slogans for that mouthful! ))
• National Cheesesteak Day
• National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
• National Cocktail Day - now there's a drink that I never really quite appreciated.  I'd rather have a whiskey sour, or a Kahlua & cream, or Irish crème whiskey, or margarita, or a mohite,  or a glass of wine than a frothy concoction whether shaken or stirred
• World Tuberculosis Day

Quote of the day:

"It's just upsetting how the world is - the need and the necessity to override the value of life." 

~  Shawn Crahan,  AKA "Clown", an American musician, co-founder and one of the three percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot

Between rereading Shogun, noodling over the purpose of life with my friend, discussions with coworkers and family over when is a life no longer worth living, The "right to life" movement that takes care of fetuses and ignores the welfare of children and mothers, and my approaching birthday, I have been reflecting quite a bit on how you can determine the value of one person.   

Of course the economists put a monetary value on a single human life - $10 million, which would make China and India,  with their high population count, very rich indeed if we really valued life at that amount!  Different religions place different values on the life of an individual as they consider the issue of a soul - those who believe in a life hereafter can contemplate with ease following the code of the Bushidō, a point of view not limited to the far East as the number of willing Islamic and Christian martyrs show.   

In the past, I have said that I wanted to "matter", that when I was gone, I wanted there to be a Carol-sized hole in the lives of those around me, in the world, in the universe, but I am no longer sure what that means.  How does one know or measure one's sphere of influence or reach of impact?  If one has a big ego or is an optimist, one could easily overestimate both; if one feels like a nonentity or is a pessimist, one could just as easily underestimate both. Unless you are one of those rare individuals who are highly visible in some way, you are going to live and die without fully understanding if you made a difference 

Like way too many questions, there are way too many answers and they all depend on your personal mindset at any given time.  At that point my reflections come to full stop.  One thing is true for everyone:  tomorrow is promised to no one.  This is the life I have, and so I just have to live it the best that I can.