No Matter How Hard We Try - On "Getting it All Done"

There's a piece of popular family lore among my relatives that when my 94-year old Auntie had what turned out to be her final lunch with my cousin, one of the things she said was that she was feeling "quite satisfied," and she felt like she had gotten everything she wanted from life.

She was in good spirits, and was still relatively healthy for her elevated age, and was still living by herself and largely taking care of herself. Anyway, after their lunch she said her goodbyes to my cousin and told him that she was going to go take her usual afternoon nap, which she then did... and never woke up.

Let us all be so lucky as to die peacefully in our sleep after a good meal with a friend, and while we're still in good health!

In Danish, there's a somewhat old-fashioned/archaic (and not translatable) expression "mæt af dage" which means something akin to feeling filled with the days and events of our lives. According to my cousin's retelling, my Auntie actually used that expressing during their lunch.

My auntie's cottage, where she passed away

The story, however, makes me think about how we so often — as human beings —strive to reach the state of getting everything done.

I know this definitely holds true for myself, and I feel like I'm constantly working to catch up with the eternal backlog of things that need to be done. But what happens if we actually succeed?

It leads me to the question of whether it is even possible to ever reach a point where "everything" is done and, moreover, is it desirable to do so? Or is the confession that you feel like you have gotten everything done ultimately an invitation — however indirect — to take the exit door to the great hereafter?

It's uncertain, I suppose. My own parents seemed like they started "planning to die" when they were in their 60's... and then lived for another 25+ years, all the while almost obsessively focused on always "putting their affairs in order."

I always thought it was a bit strange, given that most of their peers were busy being "active seniors," but I suppose we never really know what goes on in people's private lives.

But how important — or not — is it really to "get everything done?"

The more I look at life, the more it seems to me that it may not even be a particularly useful ambition... unless it makes you happy to pursue it!

Wouldn't we be better off simply doing what pleases us, particularly as we approach our respective "end runs" in life?

So, what brought this whole line of thinking on?

For the umpteenth time, I found myself tidying up my office space and coming to the recognition that there is just SO. MUCH. I. NEED. TO. GET. DONE. and there's really no way I'll get to it all before the end of my life... unless I just back a dumpster up to the window and start throwing everything in!

Each person's respective "everything" varies considerably... adventures, skills, learning, organization, relationships, fame, fortune, and some combination of the above.

Perhaps — rather than focusing on "everything" — it behooves us to prioritize and be more discerning and focus on the "most meaningful," instead.

Get the important things done. The rest is icing on the cake!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

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Created at 2023-07-07 23:15 PDT
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