The superlative
By way of conversation, a guy at work asked me: What's the most important email you've ever sent?
I thought hard about it.
And I replied: I can't think of any.
There have been many important emails in my life. But to single one out as The most important email is to say that that email has been pivotal in your life - without that singular email, your life would be significantly different. In other words, that email has most deeply impacted your life, and you would tangibly regret it if the impact (positive/negative) had or had not been there.
In fact, to say any single person, event, place, action is the most important one, is to say that that single person, event, place, action is the One that has made all things possible or impossible, has brought to where you are, or kept you from where you might have been. That "Most Important Thing" is the key to, or the bar against your deepest desires.
He asked: How about emails regarding your applications? Jobs, school?
And I told him, yes it's important that I got this job, the process of getting to this job, to where I am, did not hinge on one email. Many emails throughout my schooling life led here. And who's to say other personal emails I write aren't as important? The emails I've written to try to save relationships, friendships. If I had to choose between writing an email to accept my job and writing an email to try to save my then-relationship, or the one friendship I have lost, it is not certain that I would have chosen to write my work-acceptance email, even if the chances of saving my human relationships were significantly slimmer than my 100% guarantee of a job.
I am happy with where I am today. It is a fact I often forget. Sometimes, when I think about it, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Despite all my moaning about deserving happiness at last, dammit - the truth is, I have been given much of what I have wanted and asked for in life. And for that, I am truly thankful.
And the fact is, I said to him, many things in life are nice to have. But you know what? I can live without. Life is too short to be stuck on one thing.
I thought hard about it.
And I replied: I can't think of any.
There have been many important emails in my life. But to single one out as The most important email is to say that that email has been pivotal in your life - without that singular email, your life would be significantly different. In other words, that email has most deeply impacted your life, and you would tangibly regret it if the impact (positive/negative) had or had not been there.
In fact, to say any single person, event, place, action is the most important one, is to say that that single person, event, place, action is the One that has made all things possible or impossible, has brought to where you are, or kept you from where you might have been. That "Most Important Thing" is the key to, or the bar against your deepest desires.
He asked: How about emails regarding your applications? Jobs, school?
And I told him, yes it's important that I got this job, the process of getting to this job, to where I am, did not hinge on one email. Many emails throughout my schooling life led here. And who's to say other personal emails I write aren't as important? The emails I've written to try to save relationships, friendships. If I had to choose between writing an email to accept my job and writing an email to try to save my then-relationship, or the one friendship I have lost, it is not certain that I would have chosen to write my work-acceptance email, even if the chances of saving my human relationships were significantly slimmer than my 100% guarantee of a job.
I am happy with where I am today. It is a fact I often forget. Sometimes, when I think about it, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Despite all my moaning about deserving happiness at last, dammit - the truth is, I have been given much of what I have wanted and asked for in life. And for that, I am truly thankful.
And the fact is, I said to him, many things in life are nice to have. But you know what? I can live without. Life is too short to be stuck on one thing.
1 Comments:
this is exactly why we are in flux...a modern era of no-thank-you-but-i-dont-need-the-single-most-important. maybe a mocha frap with extra cream, why not?
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Anonymous, at 5:35 PM
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