Thursday, September 29, 2005

That Important Question


In the way that almost 18-year-olds can, we sat in the Grand Tetons, talking earnestly until the night was gone. The night was filled with earnest dreams and honest conversation. A bond forges itself easily in two who link up as stranger openly, when fingers know their hearts were born on the same uncharted planet. Hours earlier, we’d been introduced while still dressed in glory at my brother’s wedding. We’d left tradition for blue jeans, mountain air, and a chance at unraveling our perceptions.

Until that night, no person had ever asked my philosophy of life, nor had I ever thought upon it. Yet the words came out as easily as if they had been written for that moment. They became one of the few truths that never changes.

“I want to be the kind of person that someone is better because he knew me.”

I wish I had the chance to thank the boy who asked me that important question.
—me strauss Letting me be

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I had a place like the Grand Tetons to serve as a backdrop to those "important conversation" moments. I think the grandest and most awe-inspiring locale of one of those types of talks was in a Nature Reserve somewhere in West Virginia where it was literally me, my best friend Jina, and the creatures of the forest as the only living things within a radius of thirty miles.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Mojo,

That doesn't sound so bad to me.
Maybe you should write about it.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Thats a good way to look at life, my grandfathers view was

"Leave more than you take" Good for life in general and buffets

Anonymous said...

Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.
-Dag Hammarskjold

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
Elie Wiesel (US News & World Report 27 October 1986)

That important question does make a difference in our lives. May we never stop asking soulfull questions...

Amen and Awomen ;-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Janu,
Thank you.
Your grandfather was a very wise man. He probably knew that one day you would be ahead him in a buffet too.

smiles,
ME-Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hello Jozef,
Nice to see you adding to the discussion. Ellie Wisel on indifference, didn't know that quote.

Thanks for the reminders

Liz

Anonymous said...

In answer to your important question (or rather to your important response) - I'm one!
Well, not a bloke, but you get my drift.

xxxx

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Gosh, Cheryl,
You just made my day.
Thank you so much for saying that.
The feeling goes both ways.

There's something in my eye . . . I'll be right back.

Liz

Anonymous said...

Hey, Liz:
Now that's my idea of a sunset. Beautiful photo.
Scot

Anonymous said...

Is my head still so stuffed that I'm stumbling where I shouldn't stumble, or should the sentence read "They became one of the few truths that never change."

Maybe it's the cold, but today I want to be the kind of person who is better because of someone I knew. Nah, it's not the cold, I've always been a thirsty learner.

Which, you know, come to think of it, makes us an okay fit.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hey Scot,
That's a sunrise.
But still a beautiful photo.
smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

'Zilla,
I can't imagine you not being an okay fit with anyone. And you can tell them all that I said so.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

You thank that person by the way you live your life--obviously with kindness and gratitude.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Thanks Patry,

What you say is surely and deeply true.

Liz