Stripping The Clutter

This is an unusual offering from me, a universal truth for a blog focused on the peculiar, paradoxical and mind-bending Parkie experience.  

It does, however, speak to the stirrings in Parkie souls as we face the inevitable end of our journeys. We seek to strip away all pretensions that may clutter our true course. 

My Parkie watchwords are Love, Laugh, Hope. They are captured magnificently here in “The Valuable Time of Maturity,” by Mario de Andrade, a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and photographer.

A fellow Parkie brought De Andrade’s lyrical piece to me.

Enjoy. 

“I counted my years and discovered that I have less time to live going forward than I have lived until now.

I have more past than future.

I feel like the boy who received a bowl of candy. 

At first he just gobbled up the sweets, but when he realized there were only a few left, he began to taste them deeply.

“I do not have time to deal with mediocrity.

I do not want to be in meetings where inflamed egos parade. I am bothered by the envious, who seek to discredit the ones they admire, to usurp their places, coveting their seats, talents, achievements and luck.

“I do not have time for endless conversations, futile to discuss the lives of others who are not part of mine.

I do not have time to manage the sensitivities of people who, despite their chronological age, are immature. I cannot stand those struggling for power.

“People do not discuss content, only the labels.

My time has become too scarce to discuss labels,

I want the essence; my soul is in a hurry.

“With not many sweets left in the bowl I want to live close to humane, very humane people, who laugh at their own stumbles, and keep away from those turned smug and overconfident by their triumphs; away from those filled with self-importance; close to those who do not run away from their responsibilities, who defend human dignity and who only want to walk on the side of truth and honesty.

“The essential is what makes life worthwhile. I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch the hearts of people; people who the hard knocks of life taught to grow with softness in their soul.

“Yes …. I am in a hurry … to live with the intensity that only maturity can bring. I intend not to waste any part of the goodies I have left. I am sure they will taste better than most of the ones I’ve already eaten.

My goal is to arrive at the end satisfied and in peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

I hope that your goal is the same, because either way you will get there too.”