…This is what my friend with Alzheimer’s says at the end of most of his thoughts.
He’ll finish telling me a story about his life or sharing an idea or answering a question and he’ll say, almost every time,“Well… life goes on…”
Specifically, and maybe most potently in my mind, I remember him telling me how he went to several brain doctors to see what they could do to help him and they each essentially said,“Nothing really”—and I can still see him taking a long pause, taking a breath, and letting the words fall from his lips as naturally as the breath would’ve swirled into the surrounding air… “Well… life goes on.”
…Why utter these words so frequently?
…To me, it’s a statement of surrender.
…But, not in a bad way—in the most important of ways.
In the way that comes after the due diligence… after the heavy research and experimental trials and errors… after the “buying the best money could buy” and using every connection you’ve ever even faintly connected with…
Yes… after all options have been exhausted and the reality of a situation hovers overhead…
It’s a mantra that allows you to surrender to that reality… and rather than fight against life… it allows you to get back to the living of it.
Because just as there were names forgotten… there were dance moves remembered.
And just as cups of tea were lost… there were meaningful conversations found.
And just as memories were fading… new memories were made.
Because, yes, indeed…“life goes on.”
…But if we don’t surrender from the fighting, we’ll miss what’s available now and all that’s left to see.