The 12 Days of yule: The Noble Virtue of Truth

4th Day of Yule

Remembering the Noble Virtue of Truth

 

 

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.  

~Aldous Huxley

 

 

After consieration about what can I write here, I remembered an old story I once wrote, about what the secret of life is. Little truths we come to discover at one point in our lives... I share this story with you, in hopes that it makes you think about your own lives, and that perhaps you can add to the list more little truths about what the secret of life might be.

 

The story was originally written in Spanish (my native tongue), and  it is based on Faith Hill's song, "The Secret of Life".

The Secret of Life

My dearest friends, family, and all those other people who have decided to give me a little piece of your time in these, the last moments of mine. First of all, let me thank you for coming to my funeral. Yes, I know that the news shocked and took many of you by surprise, I mean, me being as healthy as I was and all that, but I was feeling sort of down in the dumps for a while and since no one told me it was a "not dying" day, I decided to kick the bucket before it was too late and they added one more candle to my already crowded birthday cake (last time I counted there were 87 candles and I told myself, "Dear God! Has it really been that long?"). Now, most of you may ask yourselves what this person is doing here - this complete stranger, reading my last words to all of you. Well, I wanted someone who could read my final comments and words to all of you without breaking down and crying, someone who was cheap, and someone who was easy on the eye for all you ladies outthere... and cousin Thomas (who are you kidding man? I mean, honestly!). 

So, before we begin, allow me to tell you something: stop crying! Really, I mean, crying won't convince me to come back and it won't buy my ticket back to the living. The only thing you will achieve with all that crying is a terrible headache tomorrow, red eyes and puffy face that you will pin later on to one yourstrully. So please, clear your tears. And to the people in the back who have no idea who I am nor why in the world are you here, I give you my full permission to leave. I know most of you are youngsters who are obligated by your parents to come to crazy old aunty Rainy's funeral, but trust me that I would  much rather you go outside, enjoy your life and stop living someone else's. Life does not last forever, kids, and I am a clear example of that. So, please, go out, live a little, and someone please close the casquet; if they wanted to see me they should have come to visit when I was alive and kicking. Now what's the point? I'm dead! The good and bad cualities of people are said when people can actually hear them and thank you for saying them, not when you're already on the other side and quite frankly could care a rat's ass about you. And since we're being honest here, why do you people insist on bringing flowers? If you knew me, you knew the hell these pesky little creations of the lord brought to my sinuses, why bring them to me to my last resting place? Take them back to the flower store or place them in a nearby grave for all I care. Now that I have said my peace, I can confess the most important things a person should know to be happy. I can tell you the secret of life.

 

The secret of life is getting up early on a wintery morning, realize you don't have to go anywhere and go back to sleep in your warm and soft bed; it's staying up late without worrying if you have to get up early the next morning. It's going to the beach and realize how small we really are in this world as you stand in front of the raging sea. 

The secret of life is to find love and care for it with all your heart, even if you heart gets broken later on; it's  never to give up in the search for that perfect romance, even to the last second of your breath. 

The secret of life is to buy a new dress that you once saw at the store and then when you come back it's on sale so you have enough left over for the shoes that go with it. It's to smell flowers without worrying about your sinuses blowing up. It's cuddling next to a cat. It's to work in a job you love doing and you get paid for it. It's having kids running through the grass and listening to their laughter as they play a new exciting game and remembering when you used to play the same thing when you where young. 

The secret of life is spending time with the family and listening to the stories told on a Christmas morning over a good cup of coffee and tamales burning on the stove. Is never having to worry about what you eat or eating without obssessing yourselves about looking fat. It's enjoying a good football game and cheering for the team no one thought would win. It's listening to a good jazz band -- live. It's doing that thing that everyone told you you couldn't do. It's helping someone in need and knowing that the wheels of karma go around and someday you might be the one in need of assistance. It's walking under the rain on a hot summer night. It's tasting a good martini. It's traveling to a place you always wanted to go. It's blowing up the candles on your 77th birthday. It's driving a sports car as you're leaving the car agency, with hat 80's song you love cranked all the way up on the stereo.

The secret of life is that there is no secret. You have to live for the moment andhope that all your best efforts were enough to let everyone know how much you cared, how proud you were of them, and that every single detail tells your story -- a story of a full, wonderful life that you wouldn't trade for all the gold in the world nor for one more second of life when it comes to the end of the road. I had a wonderful life, filled with ups and downs, tears and laughter, good friends and fearsome enemies -- full of everything and nothing at all. I wish you all, trully, that as you leave this place, you step into a good life. Your own.

 

I Love you.