Dress Rehearsals
Sunday, October 26th, 2008We all listen to advice via sound bites and maxims, and I am no different than the rest of the world. A while ago, the favorite saying of the day is that “Life is not a dress rehearsal.” In other words, life and our actions today are the only chance we have to “get it right.” We cannot back up the tapes of what we do, and reshoot them in real life. However, “bad” tapes can replay themselves in our heads, for years.
Some of us follow other people whom we consider to be role models. In so doing, we can become very disenchanted and discouraged, when they let us down. Think of all the young people who idolize pop stars and music video stars, only to find them to drink irresponsibly or be morally corrupt. Think of adults who put their trust in government leaders and may even wish that they, too, could serve in that capacity. Then it is observed that some legislator is doing something terribly unethical or just plain wrong. The public balks at the bad news. Remember this: Tomorrow, any bad news will just be accepted and swept under the rug, as if an event had never happened.
As a society, we seem to be suffering from collective memory loss because we tend to engage in the same lack of judgment, again and again. When I see grown men in camouflage attire, running around in a foreign country, with an imbedded reporter, and one of the men gets hit by mortar or gun fire, it is not surprising that it is immediately confirmed that the soldier will not be coming home, at least not alive. These men are not “playing war” for a TV special, rather, they are living a daily nightmare that their number will be up next, not to step up to the luncheon meat counter at the store, but to meet St. Peter. Let’s hope they pass through the Pearly Gates with ease.
On a daily basis, we all make mistakes. If you keep forgetting to kiss your wife goodbye, a word to the wise, don’t. If you have not locked up your firearms yet, to keep them safe from youngsters, take care of the situation. Don’t take anyone else for granted. It’s not that they might die, it is that they will die, and so will you. It’s all a matter of timing.
The importance of life in all of its forms is often, for me, a poignant consideration, as it would be for anyone who stops to think about it, and particularly anyone who has a life-threatening condition.
So, if life is not a dress rehearsal, it means that we have to maximize our chances of taking the right course of action for ourselves, today. If you have been postponing a hard decision, make it. If you love people in your life, but never see them, make the effort. We will never walk down this road again, in the same way. Think of today as special because every today is a building block for tomorrow. Play for keeps.
Patricia Cummings




