I have an annual ritual of reading through each of Jane Austen's classics. It is my comfort food, if you will. In 'Emma' there are many vibrant but complex characters who delight us with their wit and charm Then there are those like Mrs. Bates-known for her extreme verbosity and I have frankly skipped those paragraphs of dialogue in past years. Guilt does sometimes plague me as though the good lady was in front of me observing me fidget or yawn.
Now, though, I have a tad more sympathy. On other days I wonder if I am indeed becoming her.
Mrs Bates was just middle aged, isolated from being a caregiver for her elderly mother. She was also quite likely to have been afflicted with ADHD.
Today the western world is full of Mrs Bateses living a life of quiet service, mostly spectators to a stage upon which they play no part or to which they have no access.
Some people's lives are completely devoid of spices. There is nothing but a bland, unseasoned mass that you can barely digest. It is our job to find who they are in the community, remind them of their former glories, listen to their stories and honor their struggles.
Grief opens your eyes and uncovers the previously invisible, the perpetually annoying and the silently dissipating.
2 comments:
LOL! That is genius perception
Well said, Aunty G! Here’s to looking for, listening to, and supporting the Mrs. Bates in our lives.
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