True Love
On the morning after Jack Benny’s death, his widow, Mary, received a single long-stemmed rose from the local florist. When another rose was delivered the next day, Mary called the florist and was told her of an order her husband had placed before he died: He had made provision in his will for the florist to supply “one perfect red rose daily for the rest of Mary’s life.”
Jack Benny was before my time, but he is still one of my favorite comedians. He was a violinist who would point out ridiculous behavior in others with his own embarassment. For now, I also want to point out a certain behavior in others who have unrequited love.
Mostly young people have dreams of unrequited love. When we’re young, we tend to be a bit selfish, so we dream about how a person we admire from a distance (regardless of time/space/social barriers) returns our love.
On the other hand, when we become elderly, like Jack Benny, we have a tendency towards unrequited love – especially after we’ve passed on: We have a tendency towards people who have requited our love. We want to be remembered by that person. We want to make them feel good. We want to make them feel secure even after we’re gone.
People like Jack Benny had the advantage of having requited love, being remembered, feeling good and secure. I would say he had the advantage of an “eternal rest,” but who am I to say what happens to us after we’ve passed on? Perhaps, his energy was dispersed into parts of humanity which also feel embarassement for ridiculous behavior. Perhaps, his soul touched each of those perfect red roses.
As for the rest of us, the way we rest or sleep hinges on our ability to relax in the wake of stress, all kinds of stress. The way we treat our love life hinges on our ability to be able to relax and sleep when we need it.