The Donne

Those of you who know me personally may have heard me get excited when it comes to one of the finest playwrights ever lived, good old William Shakespeare. His ridiculously entertaining and captivating plays are works of which to be marvelled and, formerly, his poems are the stuff of thought provoking paradox and rhetoric. We (I) even quoted him on our wedding invites and we married with the meleody that Craig Armstrong wrote for Romeo + Juliet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je3KyWWW8pA) I don't claim to know any more about Shakey other than what I've learnt in a couple of uni modules and from being in the classroom this past year with very talented English teaching colleagues. I've been on school trips to the Bard's office and, a couple of years ago, Man bought us tickets for the Globe theatre for us to watch 'As you like it', a brilliant comedy that we both laughed out loud at. Shakespeare 1-Man 0. Man even bought us cushions so we could pretend to be Elizabethan gentry 😊

Another guy who was writing at the same time as Shakey was John Donne; his infamous line 'No man is an island' is now household slang for the fundamental need for community.  Since my blog has gone public, Man has been inundated with messages of support and love from circles of people from his past and his present, professional and personal. And whilst most of the time we believe that we are independent and capable of steering our own ship, Donne's line hits us with the notion that we are anything but.  History has shown us that humans apparently cannot thrive or grow without others' experiences and support - individually we are mere pieces of the sum of life. If we were to live as an island we would surely succumb to an emotional famine, a drought of insignificance and endless rounds and rounds of circles only to eventually shrivel and fade away. 

And yet a biggie like cancer (the word can kiss my ass) brings out the BEST in humans, no doubt. I could write a book with all of the supportive messages and heartfelt phone calls that my husband has received. Mother Nature works mysteriously and yet - paradoxidly - in an obvious way. We all want to survive. We are all part of this homosapien network that has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years with the sole purpose to cling on to this inextricable matrix we call life. No man is on his own, unless he wants to be. My husband has always been sociable, personable, affable. He's ready to assist, doesn't question his friends' requests and has always looked on the bright side of (Brian's) life. And now he's reaping back - his network, ie you! are keeping him afloat, keeping him focused, keeping his life one of sincerity and earnest. We thank you, sincerely for your love.  Who wants to be an island anyway?! 

'We that are true lovers run into strange capers!'

- WS 

Sorry hubby for the Shakespeare references but I can't write without using his words, afterall, we use them every day 😉