Leaving the Grace of This World | Hacker News Reader

Leaving the Grace of This World

outsideonline.com

54 pointsmighty-fine11 comments

This was a long read but worth it.

> “Then my worst call was to your mother, my goodness,” she told me. Irene reminded me that my mother became overwhelmed during that call. Mom then called me and asked me to call Irene. I did. Irene forwarded me the email on the morning of July 10. It’s still in my archived inbox.

One thing I find quite unnerving about the digital world is the immediacy of these things that never really fades. I have a friend's suicide message on gmail. The last messages I sent someone I loved.

These don't get lost, or buried, or fade with time. They are only a few clicks away at any moment.

After my mother died, her Yahoo email account was taken over by spammers. For some months, I’d open my spam folder to see an email from “her”. I finally located her password and killed the account.

I think it can be comfortable.

When my grandma passed in October, my cousin had a saved voicemail she forwarded for us.

It wasn't long, she was always efficient with her time, but it was her from before the worst of her decline. And it's nice to know we still have that

and now I'm crying again. that wasn't my plan for today

I had several voicemails from passed friends ~15 years ago and I switched phones and lost them somehow in their system. I cried a lot that day.

Yeah, I was thinking about that, so I just downloaded it. I'll put it online sometime today

This was a worthwhile read, and examines the dark side of the oft-lionized wanderlust. It has echoes of "on the road" in its characterizations. Thought provoking to those of us that know people like this.

A warning to those of you who easily cry: this piece will do it to you.

Seems like a really good read, but I only have 30 minutes.

Skimming can help sometimes, but this article makes it harder. No summary at beginning/end, no topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs. Maybe that was intended: long-form narrative to create an emotional point, exploring experience and questions, more than an informational one.

So many problems are solved by having purpose in life. I've written a lot, but one possibility is helping lift humanity, finding joy through growth (learning, improvement) and unselfish service to others. Much revolves around my beliefs which seem like they would solve so many problems.

Somebody famous (Dickens or Tolstoy maybe?) said something like "All happy families are alike, and all miserable families are miserable in their own way". I think there is much to that: multigenerational unselfish service in a widening circle. Seeing what families' and/or cultures' traits allow them to persist over time is also interesting.

That's a great quote. Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Talk about an opening line!

One of my quarantine projects was to read more great literature. I'd always joked that I'd be happy being in jail as long as I could read all the books I've ever wanted to read. Figured this was a good chance to put my money where my mouth is. Haven't gotten to Anna Karenina yet but did finish the Brothers Karamazov, The Winter of Our Discontent, Moby Dick, Lolita, East of Eden, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Breakfast of Champions and The Idiot.

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