Survival Not Always

Survival, a word that comes to mind more often as daily I peruse the political pages of the NYT , and it isn’t always applicable to the fittest despite the well know phrase.

It is a three syllable word that is embedded in every human’s vocabulary, whether or not we speak it aloud.

As I watch the woman so desperately clinging to her power, my heartstrings tug for her.

We have not an iota in common. Still her strength and demeanor and yes, her pearls have been a constant reminder of my Mother. One was, and the other is, both amazing women, and equally controversial.

However, today I step back in time and think of all the times I thought survival was vital, and the lesson life taught me.

Because survival doesn’t just mean the time we are granted on this beautiful earth. Rather it embraces life choices, styles, and of course relationships.

I once chose to survive in a business environment that initially was everything I had ever hoped to achieve. When the Patriarch of the company was replaced, I should have immediately.recognized the handwriting on the wall and departed with grace and ease.

Instead I chose to survive. One of the major errors in my so called career, and one I will ever regret.

Also, of course, if I am speaking of bad choices, I must remember another; a personal one which I refused to acknowledge. I was not accepted by a branch of family. Rather I kept ignoring the obvious road signs along the way. My eventual total rejection might have been less painful if I had always recognized the reality, painful as it was and is.

So today while I watch this woman who has achieved so very much, fighting desperately against the obviously influential forces endowed with youth, forcing her to cling tenaciously to her powerful position, I wish I could say;

Let it go. You have done so well, and truly, life goes on and becomes far easier. Despite all our differences, you have served your country well, Nancy.