November 23
Life is like a play: what matters is not how long it is, but how well it is acted.
Letters to Lucilius, Letter 77
Listening mode
Life is like a play: what matters is not how long it is, but how well it is acted.
A conversation that is suddenly cut off often seems unfinished in hindsight. You still wanted to say something, and now the last sentence hangs in the air. Yet what was said before was no less true just because no ending followed.
It is harder while you are still in the middle of things. If you don't know how much time is left, you can't arrange anything with an ending in mind. So you save some things for later: the long conversation, the frank word, the visit there will be more peace and quiet for later on. This putting off isn't foolish. It counts on a continuation, and usually there is one.
Only, it shifts what you use to measure whether something has worked. A time that sees itself only as preparation needs what comes later in order to mean anything. A time that is already right in itself doesn't. From the outside the difference is hard to see. Two identical afternoons can differ solely in whether you were already there or still waiting for the more important part.
No one tells you when that part begins. Sometimes it only becomes clear afterwards that it had begun long before.
