We only have two lives
In Andrade’s poem ‘The Valuable Time of Maturity’ I came across these poignant words – “We only have two lives – and the second begins when you realise that you only have one.”
He begins the poem by saying that he has counted his years and realised that he now has less time to live than he has lived so far. He compares himself to a boy who has won a bag of sweets. As he opened the bag, he ate the sweets quickly and with pleasure – but as he realised that the quantity of sweets was getting smaller and smaller, he started eating them more carefully, savouring them slowly and tasting them more intensely
I have now reached the twilight of my life (even though I hope that this period of twilight, when there is still light in the sky before dusk falls, lasts for a good deal longer!) and I have come to accept that my Past is now longer than my Future. As one of my friends who is the same age as myself recently reminded me, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the second half of your life – anyone’s life – goes more quickly than the first.
So how do I intend to live the remaining years that will be allotted to me by the Three Moirai –those sisters in Greek mythology who are said to be responsible for the destiny of each of us, a destiny over which we really have no control?
During my professional career I looked after patients who kept themselves active and healthy well into their eighties and even their nineties – as well as those who succumbed to illness and ill health to pass away in their early fifties. At what point in our own lives do we become conscious of the ephemeral nature of Time and of our own mortality?
After all, Death is not a topic we like to think about or talk about. When we are young – when Life is loved and lived carefree – old age, sickness and death are far from our minds. As the 1972 song made famous by Mary Hopkin reminds us, ‘Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end…..for we were young and sure to have our way.’
But as we reach the twilight years, we realise that it is important to not waste time on unnecessary activities. Life is too short to waste hours on those typical Sri Lankan conversation topics of ‘Chodhana’ and ‘Yojana’- or as Andrade described in his poem on ‘endless meetings where statutes, rules, procedures and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.’
I for one, would like to value every moment allotted to me by the Moirai and spend my time in the company of old friends and humane folk – people who know how to laugh at themselves and don’t take themselves too seriously, who are not pompous or inflated by their own successes.
Before dusk finally falls, I consider it a privilege to be able to spend this time of my life in Sri Lanka – a beautiful land that has been blessed by Nature but has been governed over the decades by incompetent politicians (many of whom have been older when they ruled this land than I am now!).
Like the little boy who was given a bag of sweets I want to savour the days slowly, share them with like-minded folk – and enjoy them to the full.
I am sure they will taste even better than the sweets I have had so far.
(Sanjiva Wijesinha is the author of Tales From my Island – see https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Island-Stories-Friendship-Childhood-ebook/dp/B00R3TS1QQ/)
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