Life's Bounty

Let me lay this down before I mis-lay it for the 10th time.

Don't you hate it when you read something that you know you'll be referring to later, but it's made such an impression that of course you needn't note the where and when ....

Later you go to the source but it ain't there; not just that, the text doesn't even read in context or character. Then you remember, you were also reading such-and-such a magazine - but of course! - so you track it down to the upstairs loo and pore thru the articles but none of those fit either ... gahd doesnt that drive you crazy with yourself? Ergghh.

In this case, I'm going to need it for a difficult letter I'm dragging my heels on, and it won't be the last time I'll reach for it. I could also tweak it for a more uplifting purpose when the occasion calls.

It's from Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, Herzen on the death of his son:

'His life was what it was. Because children grow up, we think a child's purpose is to grow up. But a child's purpose is to be a child. Nature doesn't disdain what lives only for a day. It pours the whole of itself into each moment. We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in its flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung? The dance when it's been danced?'