Reflection on Time & Trajectories

These are notes from a presentation to a class of graduating 8th graders which will not be given.  

The image above is that of a protractor, graded in degrees, from 0 to 180, and is here used to denote one's life, the zero point referring to birth, 180 degrees referring to one's death at the age of 90 years.

The arrow in red refers to the 8th graders, now at the age of 13 and 14.  The arrow in blue refers to my own position, at the age of 54.  The three green points mark the death of my mother, Elsie, my father, Albert, and my mother-in-law, Jeanette.

The span from the orange arrow to the red is the life thus lived by my former students;  and the span from the orange arrow to the blue arrow is the life I have thus lived.

Conversely, the span between the red arrow and the green is the life yet to be lived by the 8th graders, assuming they live to 90, a good enough estimate;  and the span from the blue arrow to the green is the life I have remaining before my own death.

Beneath the protractor are a series of images, meant to represent the roles and personalities about which we tend to identify ourselves:  George Clooney:  the suave actor, object of envy;  the lion:  the image of courage and strength, the predator, object of fear and respect;  the prince and princess:  an image of romantic love;  Mick Jagger:  the aloof artist, bad boy, rock star, performing to audiences of thousands;  Jesus, the Christ:  spiritual Master, worshipped, Divine;  the tiger:  beautiful, deadly, and exotic;  and Michael Phelps:  Olympic gold-medalist, the perfected athletic, fastest in the world.

Two essential points:  Our lives are fabricated stories about which we identify;  and the clock ticks.  What to do?