Darkest Before the Dawn?

Strange times. I don't think I can recall a time when life ever felt darker, except for purely personal reasons that now seem like ancient history. Add a family crisis into the mix, the dreadful fear of possibly having lost a loved one without warning or an opportunity to say "I love you" one last time... a close call, perhaps, and one that shook me up a great deal. A stark reminder of the fact that life can profoundly change in an instant, quite unexpectedly... and that every moment is a precious opportunity. So many of them seem to be slipping me by unappreciated - I'm sure I'm hardly alone in that respect, and perhaps I needed a reminder from the universe that time is not a replenishable resource.

I appreciated Anthony's terrific piece, linked to in Sunni's previous post, and it reminded me of one that recently hit the nail on the head for me perhaps better than anyone had previously done... Justin Raimondo's Iraq Falls Apart, and in Washington the Center Cannot Hold. I'd meant to post a link to it at the time, but the opportunity slipped past (as so many seem to do). It made a profound impression on me because the same poem, Yeats' "Second Coming," had been haunting me for some time... and I'm sure it will continue to do so for some time:

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity." ...

Not my favorite poem, but it ranks amongst the most unforgettable... and seems so apropos to the times in its entirety.

Well, in a strangely synchronistic fashion, the words "Carpe Diem" (sieze the day) seem to be a recurring theme lately... so I'm off, hopefully to do just that!