Recently, I read a book about hard decisions at the late stages of life that moved me: Don DeLillo’s Zero K. In one passage that has stayed with me, a character reflects on the small, beautiful elements that make up a life. She describes a shower to her stepson: “I think about drops of water,” she says. “I think about drops of water. How I used to stand in the shower and watch a drop of water edge down the inside of the sheer curtain. How I concentrated on the drop, the droplet, the orblet, and waited for it to assume new shapes as it passed along the ridges and folds, with water pounding against the side of my head.

— Lora Kelley, P.S., The Atlantic Daily Newsletter (July 20, 2023)

Notes:

• Special Note. Friends, my apologies for the blog malfunctions in the past week, 99% were self inflicted wounds that I’m still working to resolve. I have lost my posts for the past week and a half along with all of your wonderful comments. My apologies. Thank you for your patience. (And given my state of mind in this repair progress, all maddening because it could have all been avoided, I thought this post was particularly timely for me. A big shout out to the WordPress staff for their patience, guidance and support.
• Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.