″‘It is required of every man,’ the Ghost returned, ‘that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is me!—and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!‘”
There is something about this time of year in which reflection is in order for me. Reflection can be the very heart of the soul and self. The days are starting to get longer and the year is coming to a close as many fulfill some type of holiday tradition. At this moment of the calendar, we find ourselves in the perfect situation for reflection. This wasn’t a practice of mine years ago. Life was a thing to be barreled through and heartily enjoyed… I’m not saying it isn’t anymore, quite the contrary! I feel that life should be lived and loved and never taken for granted. Personally, I feel this with each atria and ventricle of the very useful chambers in my heart, and I do so, in part, because of my reflections.
To each their own. I’m not saying every single person should start a reflection practice. I am neither a life coach nor a guru of happiness (even though that is a fun title). This is a post about my reflections and not a how-to post!
When I was a smol Mar, my grandmother and I loved watching A Christmas Carol every year. Specifically the one with George C. Scott made in 1984. Watching movies was a ritual for us. (insert story here about how I am part of the last generation to remember the good times to be had at Blockbuster) We had our favorites and would rewatch them. I think that’s why I love to rewatch movies to this day.
Jacob Marley scared me! Am I alone in this? I’m certain that I am not. While we get to know our main character, the hero, he is haunted by a voice, “Ebenezer Scrooooooooooooooge!” As he heads home, a creepy face appears on the knocker of the front door and then as Ebenezer is trying to eat his porridge, he hears the knocking about of chains coming nearer and nearer to his door. A ghostly vision appears carrying chains and locked boxes, and in the 1984 version, he unties a kerchief to let down his jaw suffering years of rigor mortis. (insert story here about how I was shown movies like Aliens and the Godfather before I probably should have been) As you can imagine, smol Mar was super scared of the apparition formerly known as Mr. Marley.
It took me years and years to get past the fear of him to finally hear what he says. To listen to the wisdom he attempts to impart upon Ebenezer, who only tries to explain him off as though he were a piece of bad beef. Jacob Marley’s dialogue is poetically beautiful and in it lies deep meaning for me. Now, Jacob Marley is probably my favorite character of the tale.
″‘Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!‘”
This is not a dissertation on Jacob Marley, so I won’t go into the gritty details of how beautiful his dialogue is or how heart wrenching it is to watch Ebenezer not comprehend what his old friend and business partner is trying to save him of. Now, we could get real wacky in this post and start talking about the afterlife and religion etc. etc. etc. but since it’s the holiday season, I will spare you this chat and just say that we are discussing the beauty of Jacob Marley in this post.
Questions for the class: 1. Did smol Maryann miss out on the beautiful lessons of Jacob Marley because of fear? 2. At times, do we all miss lessons in life and are we the worse or better for them? (I will give you time to come up with your responses)
My biggest reflection this year is that smol Mar missed out on the lessons of Jacob Marley until it was time for her to hear and understand them. Life really is that beautiful barrel of monkeys that we jump into, learn from, and make mistakes in… and THAT IS OKAY! Everyone is on a crazy, different path, but I walk my path next to yours and we make it together. My spirit walks abroad with my fellow living beings and we share our happinesses and sadnesses together.
“No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused!”
For my last post of 2022, I am grateful and thankful for my friends and family because I would not want to share this life without you. Here’s to life, love, and more blog posts in 2023! 😊
Mar Tells Mini Tales 