She would have died hereafter.
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.– William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Is life really a tale told by an idiot? That’s quite an indictment of the concept of life. Think about it. The Bard isn’t just saying that life is pointless. He’s saying that it is a tale told by an idiot. Imagine the most gaseous windbag at the end of the bar, three sheets to the wind, spewing out nonsense all night. His stories are about as coherent as life if you follow this point of view.
Sometimes it can feel that way. Days come, days go. There are good days and bad days. As Ferris Bueller would say, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it.” Today you’re having a blast. Tomorrow, you’re an old man in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank. Sometimes it feels like moves faster than a finger snap.
Obviously, the character of Macbeth engaged in some nasty business, so it is not surprising he felt low enough to become dissatisfied by life. But is it really full of sound and fury? Does it signify nothing?
Life can have its great moments, and those moments can vary from person to person. For some, it’s marriage or birth of a child. For others it may be the accomplishment of a long held dream. It’s better to concentrate on the good times, and forget the fact that, like a “brief candle,” life can be snuffed out at any time. That’s the sad irony of life – an alive person spends his life collecting one achievement after another and in the end, everyone, from the lowliest bus station bathroom janitor to the highest CEO ends up worm food.
Like a “player” with his “hour on the stage,” we all have those great moments. Life is meant to be lived. Enjoy your time on the stage, because a life spent worrying about the final curtain is a life wasted.
Bookshelf Battle 
The Writer’s Battle – Expressions
Expressions – you hear them all the time. They’re those pesky figures of speech that everyone says but no one knows where they came from. And sometimes, when you really sit there and think about them – they’re kind of weird.
Here’s some that are on my mind:
EXPRESSION: “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
MEANING: It is possible to achieve the same end through various means.
EXAMPLE: “Hey Fred!” Pete said. “I ran out of glue and now I can’t finish my collage of 17th Century Prussian Warlords! What the hell should I do know?”
Pete stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner and replied, “Why don’t you try some chewed up Grape Bubbalicious? After all, there’s more than one way to skin a cat!”
COMMENTARY: When you think about it, this expression is sick. Apparently, based on the expression’s continued existence in the modern lexicon, there was at one point in the world’s history a booming cat skinning operation. Whether people skinned cats for industrious profit or leisurely sport I am unaware. Yet, cat skinning must have been prevalent at some point for people to have coined this expression.
GUESS AT HOW IT WAS INVENTED: Two cat skinners, 1 and 2, were discussing a vexing problem in 1’s life. 2 suggested a variety of possible methods of solving 1’s problem, adding “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” 1, a veteran cat skinner, keenly aware of and experienced in a wide range of cat skinning techniques, devices, and methods, knew instantly that 2 was attempting to convey the message that there was more than one way to remedy his conundrum. Thus, a new expression was born.
THE BOOKSHELF BATTLE EXPRESSION CHALLENGE – In an effort to motivate myself to engage in more bloggery, from now until Labor Day I will be consulting with Expression Scientists all over the globe to explain to you, the noble reader, not only how our most prevalent expressions were invented, but also, how they are pretty weird when you think about them.
Have an expression you’d like to see decompressed? Post it in the comment section below.
As always, thank you for stopping by. Stop by more often, will you? I’ve seen cholesterol numbers higher than my stats.