This quote appears in the front of a book I am reading:
The greatest pleasure of life is love,
The greatest treasure, contentment,
The greatest posession health,
The greatest ease is sleep,
The greatest medicine is a true friend.
(Sir William Temple)
The quote made me think about my Best Friend (hereto known as Lummox.) Lummox and I have been best friends since we were 8 years old, and we're now thirty so that's a really, really, really long time. We've survived births, deaths, marriages, changed international locations, countless tears and plenty of high-calorie, totally worth it slices of cake. Last year Lummox was diagnosed with an auto-immune, incurable disease. The above quote made me think of her primarily because, while she may be lacking in some of those areas, there is no question that she (and I) have the last one. My frustration, of course, is that no amount of my being a true friend to her will give her back her "greatest posession" and restore it to full working order. I actually think the poem is a bit wrong - I would put one's greatest treasure as friendship, with one's greatest medicine as contentment. A treasure, of course, being something one can continually draw from as time goes by and as needs dictate, while a medicine is something which cures an ill. Her 'medicine' is her acceptance of her disease, and her significantly changing her lifestlye in order to ensure a long, happy and basically healthy life. She has, in recent months, shown a strength of character, courage and energy which I admire greatly - in the face of exhaustion on so many levels, she continues to achive a remarkable amount. We play a game where she tells me she doesn't know "how I do it" - eg raise a family, forge a career, organise a hectic life - and I tell her I don't know how she does it - go to grad school, work, be an amazing daughter and friend... but I can reveal our secret of how we do it. We do it by valuing the treasure which is our friendship, and deriving from it pleasure, contentment, and ease.
Lummox: By request, here is the blog about you. Thank you for the last 22 years.
The greatest treasure, contentment,
The greatest posession health,
The greatest ease is sleep,
The greatest medicine is a true friend.
(Sir William Temple)
The quote made me think about my Best Friend (hereto known as Lummox.) Lummox and I have been best friends since we were 8 years old, and we're now thirty so that's a really, really, really long time. We've survived births, deaths, marriages, changed international locations, countless tears and plenty of high-calorie, totally worth it slices of cake. Last year Lummox was diagnosed with an auto-immune, incurable disease. The above quote made me think of her primarily because, while she may be lacking in some of those areas, there is no question that she (and I) have the last one. My frustration, of course, is that no amount of my being a true friend to her will give her back her "greatest posession" and restore it to full working order. I actually think the poem is a bit wrong - I would put one's greatest treasure as friendship, with one's greatest medicine as contentment. A treasure, of course, being something one can continually draw from as time goes by and as needs dictate, while a medicine is something which cures an ill. Her 'medicine' is her acceptance of her disease, and her significantly changing her lifestlye in order to ensure a long, happy and basically healthy life. She has, in recent months, shown a strength of character, courage and energy which I admire greatly - in the face of exhaustion on so many levels, she continues to achive a remarkable amount. We play a game where she tells me she doesn't know "how I do it" - eg raise a family, forge a career, organise a hectic life - and I tell her I don't know how she does it - go to grad school, work, be an amazing daughter and friend... but I can reveal our secret of how we do it. We do it by valuing the treasure which is our friendship, and deriving from it pleasure, contentment, and ease.
Lummox: By request, here is the blog about you. Thank you for the last 22 years.
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