{"id":2740,"date":"2024-12-14T17:33:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T00:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2024-12-14T17:33:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T00:33:05","slug":"tapestry-of-a-life-well-lived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/14\/tapestry-of-a-life-well-lived\/","title":{"rendered":"Tapestry of a Life Well-Lived"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party \u2014 but no one knows who they are.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great deal can be learned about a person by who they surround themselves with. The crowds at their parties show what kind of person they aspire to be. Their funeral crowd shows what kind of person they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a gathering of the latter sort turns into the former, well, that\u2019s just good wake planning. Of course, it helped that the deceased was well-loved by the sort of people who could subsume their grief long enough to celebrate the life they\u2019d shared. The intoxicants probably helped, too. Probably more than anything else, if judged solely by the rate at which they were consumed at the wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was into this intoxicated haze of laughter and tears, mirth and grief, and longing and fond remembrance that the stranger inserted themself. There were people from various parts of the life of Professor Jackson \u201cDoc J\u201d Washington, PhD. Students and colleagues from the university where he taught philosophy and comparative religion met leaders and members of local churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, groves, and covens. Current members and former graduates of the half-dozen programs for disadvantaged youths he founded got the opportunity to meet his family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His modest house was far too small for such a gathering, so it was fittingly held at the newly named Jackson Washington Community Center in his neighborhood. In the spacious multi-use room, the stranger moved from group to group. In some cases, they stood and listened, gleaning what they could about Doc J\u2019s life. Other times, they asked for stories that the speaker would consider exemplified the professor\u2019s true nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversations swirled around the room, weaving an intricate tapestry of a long life, well-lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was in the South City Youth Sports League all through grade school, middle school, and high school. When I was trying to figure out what I was going to do after graduation, he asked what university I was going to. When I told him I probably wouldn\u2019t be able to, he took the time to help me apply for scholarships and hired me in the League as a coach and mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life of a fighter for the rights and dignities of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026the time he brought an entire high school orchestra to the state house and had them perform on the house floor before the vote on cutting funding for extracurriculars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man who went out of his way to help those less fortunate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026he showed up to the black-tie faculty dinner in sweats because he\u2019d spent the entire day helping the family of one of the community center kids move out of the shelter into a new apartment. They didn\u2019t know he was the one that paid the deposits to get the utilities turned on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man who could see beyond his own preconceived notions and experience the viewpoint of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026and after defending Aquinas, he turned around in the next debate and ripped every one of those arguments apart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life of someone who took personal risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026but the fact that he testified after the death threats was the key that got that slumlord locked up for reckless endangerment and criminal threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life of someone who found joy in teaching, even when not teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026a shot for every logical fallacy. We got so<\/em> drunk before they were even halfway through the debate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a conversation that caught the stranger\u2019s attention. They focused in on it, lest they miss anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know I\u2019m not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat bastard should be here. He\u2019d turn this party up to eleven!\u201d The speaker broke down into heaving sobs. \u201cI miss him so fucking much!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man who was deeply missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger moved away to watch interactions as people began to move between the groups. They watched an imam in a lively but friendly conversation with a young woman wearing a pride badge. In one part of the room, one of the professor\u2019s former colleagues seemed to be giving advice to a young man from the community center, who seemed to hang on her every word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The professor\u2019s wife stood on one of the tables and clinked a spoon against her glass. \u201cI would like to say something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The room grew quiet, and the stranger watched in anticipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJ used to call himself a \u2018theistic atheist or atheistic theist.\u2019 While that is just the sort of logical oxymoron he loved, he explained it as, \u2018I don\u2019t believe in a higher power because of any rational or logical reasoning, but from a combination of childhood indoctrination, societal pressure, and wishful thinking. In other words, I like to think there might be a god or gods.\u2019\u201d She laughed and wiped a tear from her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man who valued intellectual honesty above all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile I don\u2019t believe myself, if anyone deserves an eternal afterlife in some heaven or other, it\u2019s J.\u201d She raised her glass. \u201cTo J!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd responded in kind, repeating the toast, \u201cTo J!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe life of a man who was deeply loved,\u201d the stranger said to themself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger stepped out of the room and walked through a door on the far side of the hallway that disappeared behind them. They stepped into a liminal space, an endless plane of grey with an omnidirectional grey light. They looked at the man standing in the space. \u201cTell me, Jackson Washington, what you think you deserve in your afterlife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. J rubbed his chin. \u201cThat\u2019s hard to say. Based on which criteria?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, as a rational, thinking being, I know it should be whatever is best for the most people and does the least harm. As a selfish being, however, I would prefer the lack of suffering and presence of pleasure or joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger\u2019s form changed, from a nondescript, short, slight person to that of a pulsing light. \u201cIn that case, I have a proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat proposal is that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile this is not, perhaps, the afterlife you envisioned, your entire intellect, personality, and sense of self, have been uploaded into one of our devices. We are offering you a virtual existence where you will continue to be, and in turn, you will be tasked to teach us your philosophies and religions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a simulation?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will be. This space is not a simulation, per se, but an evaluation space.\u201d The stranger dimmed and brightened as it spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho, then, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger changed shape again and looked like one of the aliens known as \u201cgrey\u201d in the UFO community. \u201cWe are from another world,\u201d they said. \u201cWe don\u2019t look like this, but this is what your brain perceives as \u2018aliens from space\u2019 so, that is the visualization I will use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t it be better to show me your true self?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger morphed into indescribable colors and non-Euclidean shapes that Dr. J was certain would give him a headache, if he still had a physical head. He removed his glasses and realized that didn\u2019t help \u2014 or hurt \u2014 his eyesight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on which way he turned or tilted his head, the stranger\u2019s shape morphed and changed in ways that defied what he knew of physics. After a few moments of that, Dr. J chuckled. \u201cOkay, maybe the little grey alien is<\/em> better. At least then I know where to look when I\u2019m talking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger changed back. \u201cHave you considered the offer? If you wish, we will turn you off and erase your data from this device. I, however, am hopeful that you will accept, because I believe that we can learn a lot from you before we attempt full contact with humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. J thought for a moment. \u201cYou know what? I\u2019ll say yes \u2014 for now<\/em>. As long as I have your assurance that if I change my mind, you\u2019ll let me go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCertainly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long will it take us to reach your world?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re already there.\u201d The alien stranger nodded as the endless plane turned into a park-like setting. \u201cBeing creatures that exist in five, rather than just four, dimensions, we can easily fold spacetime to simply step from one place and time to another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s some impressive power.\u201d Dr. J sat on the lavender grass-like ground covering. \u201cHow are using that power to effect change for the better?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stranger joined him on the ground. \u201cBeginning to teach already? I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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