The Value of the Unexamined Life/ The Modern Day Gadfly

I disagree with the statement Socrates made that, "the unexamined life is not worth living." 

To examine life is a curse we chose upon ourselves. We are followed by the mocking shadows of our consciousness, the streams of our thoughts, and the awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. Examination goes beyond the instinct of self preservation and extends into the realms of trivial aspects of our lives. The core principle of our being is to survive another day, live to see the break of daylight, avoid death; however you choose to phrase it. Once you push aside the policies and ways of life we invented for ourselves, humanity comes down to animalistic behaviors. The only things we must do-things which preserve humanity-are the same things which any other organism does.

We never realize how burdened we are by examination. Too much or too little of a dose is lethal- if you do it incorrectly, then the outcome and effects can be damaging upon life itself. Examination is constantly stressed as growth- but why is not light shone upon the ways in which it deteriorates the human psyche?  

People have traumatic experiences and push those memories away as a means of self preservation. Reflection has been advertised as cleansing, but it also has a way of tending to the strongly rooted weeds of difficulties and struggles. Will my life be more complete if I reflect upon haunting experiences, even if they cripple my sense of security and trust? Will questioning the random paths of life and the preselected circumstances I am born into give me peace of mind?

Society pressures us to think beyond our instincts and beyond what we know to be absolute. Selfishness is what has kept the human race in existence for so many years. We are but another species inhabiting the Earth, and once the time comes when we enter into the realm of extinction, then what can we say about examination and its contribution to our existence? Life of other sorts goes on with or without us- nature is not hindered by our inability to continue our race. 

To me, an example of a modern day Gadfly would be Stephen Colbert. I've watched many of his episodes and noted that he relies on his intuition to ask the questions we all want to ask-the ones which extend beyond the line of "thinking" and "doing." He is very perceptive of present issues and knows how to stimulate the viewers minds. He knows how to control any interview, and enjoys doing so. Even through his humorous news updates, sketches, and segments, he always gives a clue away as to what issue he is trying to point out.   

Eulogy

Hello everyone, and welcome.

We are all gathered here today to remeber and honor the memory of Justyna. She was a beloved daughter, sister, and friend to us all.

Justyna was a remarkable young woman blessed with talents and intuition. She was a terrific piano player as well as a singer. I remember her musical discovery at the age of 8 when she decided to learn to play the piano because her best friend did. A year later, she told her father and me that she wanted to also sign up at her music school to learn to play the violin. From then on, she continued her musical journey and signed up for choir both at her elementary and high school.  My husband was truly proud of her and in awe at her musical pursuit and curiosity, as the musical genes run in his family and not in mine.

My daughter Justyna was also a closet writer. She could not be labeled as a poet, journalist, novelist, or lyricist, as all of those categories equally described her. After she passed away, I found her journals and random scraps of paper stashed away behind a shelf of books in her room. When I found then, I reminded myself of the few times she showed me her written pieces. With my sons I was unable to connect with them on an expressive level, but with her, my poetry writing found a willing ear that always listened and helped me to unfold the context within my poems.

She was a great listener and the peace maker whenever a conflict arose. Having an older and younger brother meant that she was always stuck in the middle of their teenage angst and coming of age phases. From them, she learned quickly and became a mediator for friends and family conflicts. She was also a very silly and happy girl. Her jokes might have caused my jaw to drop a few times, but I always reminded myself of the kind heart she possessed. She was planning on going to the Peace Corp. after college. I wish I could have told her how proud of her I was for making such an important decision in life and for willingly helping others in need.

Justyna was also academically gifted. She was reading before all of her classmates and always expressed curiosity in school. Multiple times, her teachers recommended that she skip a grade and advance herself academically. I was always scared that she would not fit in with the kids older than her and that I would have one less year with my daughter before going off to college. She was only a year away from graduating high school before her tragic accident took away a beautiful life.

She will always remain with us in our hearts, spirits and minds. We will always remember the beautiful person that my daughter Justyna was. Thank you.