Suck
Out the Marrow
“I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front
only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what
it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not
lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear;
nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite
necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of
life.”
Henry
David Thoreau
“Then
he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who
had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his
face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and
let him go.”
John
11: 43-44
I
sometimes hate the way the Bible tells a perfectly good story and
then leaves you hanging. So, what happened next with Lazarus? Did he
just chuck his shroud and go back to life as usual? Did he pick up
his staff and head out to tend the sheep? What about his sisters,
Mary and Martha? Did they look at their brother differently after
losing him that way? Was the whole thing just a little too creepy to
handle? I guess we’ll never know.
I do
know this much: Living in close proximity to death changes the way we
look at life. Ordinary events carry more weight; every beautiful
sight requires savoring. The voices and faces of friends and family
become richer and more precious. Suddenly, simplicity feels
essential—life, culled down to what truly matters. When the Grim
Reaper comes close enough for us to feel his breath, our priorities
change. Concern about making enough money to raise our social status, what kind of car we drive, who we know, evaporates. Now, it is more
important to make time for contemplation, time to spend with people
we love, to walk in the woods, watch the sunrise, and listen to the
sound of rain. Life is such a miraculous gift.
Should
we wait for death to draw near to take a closer look at how we
spend our days? Could we, while in good health, take “time to be
idle and blessed,” as Mary Oliver suggests? How would life be
different if, like Thoreau, we were to live deliberately, deeply, and
suck out all the marrow? Lazarus was given a second chance, and so are we every morning we open our eyes to a brand new day.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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