"The lesson [Henry David Thoreau] had taught himself, and which he tried to teach others, was summed up in the one word 'Simplify.' That meant simplify the outward circumstances of your life, simplify your needs and your ambitions; learn to delight in the simple pleasures which the world of Nature affords. It meant also, scorn public opinion, refuse to accept the common definitions of success, refuse to be moved by the judgment of others. And unlike most who advocate such attitudes, he put them into practice." (Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau--Edited and with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch, Bantam Books, 1962, P. 1)

Monday, April 30, 2007

My Cropped Out Life

In a post on her exemplary blog, Meredith mentioned that her brother, with some derision, I think, once asked her what she was going to do when people read her blog, and then they met her and saw the part of her life she had cropped out. As a new blogger, that got me to thinking about my own cropped out life. I am very aware that this blog is only a carefully-edited slice of my existence. Recorded in heaven, I know, are the entries in my tear-stained, prayed-over, hand-written daily journal, the rantings vented to my patient husband, and conversations with friends who know the gritty details of my life. But a blog, such as this blog, is a cropped presentation of reality, to be sure.

And why not.

I got to thinking, as I was musing on this subject, of my dad. I knew my dad very well by the time he died. He would not mind my saying that he was a flawed individual, for he would be the first to admit it. But, when he passed away, I was stunned by how his life suddenly became, in my heart and mind, like a series of clarified snapshot photos. Cropped photos, to be sure. They were all about the essence of who he was and what his life meant: a snapshot of a conversation that left me feeling like my opinions mattered; a snapshot of a time he shared a reverence for God's creations; a snapshot of a time he was generous with his possessions; a snapshot of him being considerate for his aged mother. Everything else about him was cropped away and dropped away, and that was because these snapshots were of the essence of his life, and nothing else showed up for me any more. And so he has remained in my heart ever since.

And so I find the appeal in blogs like Meredith's. She has posted enough that I think I know the essence of who she is, and it is good. I think, when all is said and done, that this is all that there will be of any of us. I think that blogging is enabling us to capture something in an unprecedented way: the extraordinary value of an individual's day-to-day life. Perhaps, after all, cropping is just a preview of an Eternity to come.
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