The Last Word

April 25, 2024

Just one more eclipse-themed column, I promise.

Regular readers might have noted that I'm a big observer of life story arcs: While we can't control the material that the universe serves us, the stories we tell ourselves and our families of how we choose to respond become building blocks for who we might become in the future. The way we frame the ending of each story becomes the lens through which we look back at each chapter in our lives, and it helps determine what we carry with us forever.

There are two main kinds of life story arcs: The ones we're glad happened, and the ones we wish hadn't. Both types build us, but what we take away from each is different. For bad experiences, the best part to keep is the lesson learned. We get to decide what's valuable enough to put in our mental toolkits; we can let the details of the story blur and remain in the past, but keep the new life skill nice and sharp for future use. For the good experiences, though, we want the details vivid in our mind so they overshadow life's bad stuff. Keeping physical reminders—souvenirs—of a wonderful experience helps us leap backward into the past and keep the story alive, to illuminate our path whenever we need it.

Over half of the readers of this newsletter live in April 8's path of totality, but even outside the path, everyone in North America was positioned for some experience of the eclipse. What eclipse story will your family carry into your future? Did you learn a little solar system science? Were you able to go outside and look up? Which details are you keeping vivid forever and which parts should be condensed into lessons learned? We won't have another opportunity for a total solar eclipse in North America for many years, so NOW is your chance to craft a story from the shadow the way YOU want it told.

—Deb