Consider the Bulldozer

 

Recently my brother and I were commiserating regarding present-day activities.  Both of us have lists of things to accomplish each day - so many that the occasional game of telephone tag will stretch up to three days!  Although we lament the busy-ness that keeps us from those quality conversations, we also acknowledge the value of meaningful healthy involvements.  In and among all these busy things we recognize a challenge facing both of us.  We both have been avid readers all our lives.  Reading always has and continues to inform us (A pattern obviously begun long before the present digital era).  Now each of us on the upper-side of our threescore and ten years, we were talking about those books.  We walk past our bookshelves, his built all over the living quarters and even some storage corners of his humble shack in Colorado Springs, and mine lining several walls of my daughter's bedroom!  Neither of our so-called offices would have room for these libraries. 

While talking about the worth and sentimental contribution to our great education (?) by these books, we also note that in the accumulation there is the occasional duplicate.  Only yesterday I happened upon two books of same title but with vastly different bindings - and also nestled on different shelves due to my simplistic cataloguing system!  I also note stretches of shelf space containing books on what now looks like a single theme - perhaps a stretch that could be considerably shortened.  Peter made a recent decision that whenever a new book comes along, he will dispose of one from somewhere in his collection.  At the moment he has 30 of such designation. Very impressive, but still contributing to the same dilemma.

Our book dilemma can be well compared with circumstance of many of my friends.  I tell him of these friends and colleagues also of similar or slightly older age than I, downsizing - systematically donating books to this book fair or thrift store, only to discover they are not necessarily valued, of similar ilk as other junk items in my garage.  Yikes, that moves us to the recycle theme.  Remove hard covers so the paper can be efficiently and conveniently (profitably?) recycled.  Oh but the humiliation of tearing covers off these valuable assets.  Both of us have spent the better part of our lifetimes self righteously quoting Bible passages like Luke 12:20 where God says to the rich man at the end of his days,  ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  Both of us recognize our attachment to these earthly treasures.  Our books could qualify us for that judgment also.  

There is more to this conversation.  No we don't even hardly think about that end-of-life sermon theme we may have heard a time or two; what direction your soul, up or down, heaven or hell?  Nope, on to next theme with this good brother.  He has already consulted with a young friend of his who specializes in things like this, living wills we call them.  On that theme he says those words which to date I have not even wanted to think. When he thinks living will he thinks in terms of instruction to the bulldozer driver!  Very casually he blows me away with this another of his characteristic far-reaching thoughts.  He assumes a goodly portion of his accumulated material will get "pushed under".  Now there's a thought I have not yet pondered.  Although I have spent years of my professional life attempting to help people deal with both life and death realities, along with lots of questions and challenges often thinking survival, but never the bulldozer reality.

I must think about this a bit.  Pushed under? Demolished?  Now my mind turns directly to another brother.  This one of the miracle tongue, the one whom I blogged about this last spring ("Miracles", May 21), radical tongue cancer surgery followed by skin graft which at first seemed to be 'miraculously' successful but then graft had to be abandoned, removed and his life now happily resuming with half a tongue.  His life, characteristic story-telling and business acumen continues.  Often there are ironic twists to things.  His business, which includes tree cutting and stump grinding, and an interesting side-line, building demolition.  Yes, Philip of the new-lease-on-life persona has successfully contracted to demo the interior of a large hospital closed down, even as he has done several previous times.  Along with his tree cutting he is now becoming a demolitions expert (Remember I said business acumen).  Here there will be bulldozing along with a large-scale materials recovery, some of it yielding considerable profit for the one taking the time to remove and resell.

Interesting.  Just sitting on the sidelines here and by contact/conversations with two of my brothers, I have now repurposed 😜 the meaning and image of bulldozers - and added another bit of meaning to my days.  From book reducing to downsizing to recycling I now deem the bulldozer a spot in the circle of life.  Some of my life journey will appropriately, mercifully, get bulldozed under.  Some will be a part of a continuing legacy, contributing to the ongoing life of those who follow.  The Bible makes fine reference to this also, Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24).   As a Christian I am quite content to sweat not about it.  Actually there is even a hymn about that, "My Life Flows On" in endless song, number 580 in my blue hymnal.  Fancy what you can create in retirement, just thinking of many things!