Living Life Every Moment!

EMILY: "Does anyone ever realize life while they live it...every, every minute?"

STAGE MANAGER: "No. Saints and poets maybe...they do some.”
― Thornton Wilder, Our Town

10-24-2012

Saints and Poets.   My blog.  This title was the first thing that entered my mind when I decided to begin a blog a few years ago.  My blog would be a collection of many different things that are part of my life every day.  I knew this had to be the title. It’s a line that I have always remembered, even if I have not always heeded its message.   It says it all.  And it hit home once again this week just how precious every moment is in our lives.  I may not be a saint, but I am a poet.  And I’m glad that I am.

The lines, of course, come from the Pulitzer Prize winning Thornton Wilder play, Our Town, written in the late 1930s about the early 20^th century mythical town of Grover’s Corners.  It was one of the pieces of American literature that we studied in high school.  Now, some things that I learned have stayed with me forever.  Others didn’t stay too long.  But I am one to remember some of the wonders of the written language.  And Our Town was one of those.  Now, we didn’t do the play as a performance for others outside the classroom, but we did do it in the LGI, the Large Group Instruction room, a cavern of a room,  I remember.  We all had parts.  We studied and analyzed the story.  We learned lines.  We worked for weeks.  We performed.  Some may say that the main character of the play is Emily Webb.  But the main character is truly the Stage Manager.  The Stage Manager plays many roles in the drama, both within the story and as an outside observer.  I read somewhere that the Stage Manager was able to break down the fourth wall, that imaginary wall that divides the stage from the audience-fantasy from reality.  I can think of no other play that does that so very well.  And in Our Town, there is minimal staging, scenery, set and costumes.  The characters and their part in the story are the focus of this play.    But, back to the Stage Manager.  The Stage Manager knows the story on stage intimately and is very wise.  The quintessential line in the play comes in the third act, as Emily, after her death, tries to recapture moments of her life.  She becomes frustrated that in the everyday things of life, too many of the people whom she loves don’t pay attention to what is really going on.  Too many don’t live in the present and enjoy every moment of life and living.  She asks in her frustration and disappointment in trying to recapture the moments, of the Stage Manager, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it...every, every minute?".  And his answer is, "No. Saints and poets maybe...they do some.”   I love that line!  It’s truly a line to live by!

We all need to be saints and poets every day.  We need to embrace every moment in our life and celebrate those moments and those around us.  What may seem inconsequential is what life and love and family and friends is all about.  We, like Emily and all of the rest of the characters, can miss out on so much if we are not aware of the joy of life in every moment.   All moments are part of who we are.   And that’s the reason I chose Saints and Poets as the title of my blog.  I want to always remember to live life every moment because every moment, whether happy or sad, is a part of life and a part of all of the people who are a part of our lives.  Each moment is precious and is part of who we are.  This came back to me earlier this week when I learned of the death of a good friend that I had known since childhood.  He was a good person.  He lived life every day.  He loved his family and his friends.   And he will be missed by many.  But we will celebrate his life tomorrow!  And, yes, if you haven’t already figured it out, my friend, John Arthur, was the Stage Manager all those years ago in high school when we did Our Town.  So, John, here’s one friend who will always remember you for many things, but mostly for your line from Our Town.  I will be one of the poets who live life every, every minute!  And from now on, this blog is dedicated to you, your life, and your memory.

Living life every moment!