My Life Has No Meaning Without You

Could that be true? Does it matter, so much, whether I live or die, or whether I am happy? We are only privileged to know a small circle of people well, in spite of the media’s determination that we care about the lives of so many who we don’t know. Indeed, many people care more about celebrities than they do about members of their own family – some even care more about fictional characters than about friends or family. Mostly on TV, but this even applies to some characters who appear in books. Not to mention Jesus, who some will give up friends and family for.

I am reminded of Linda Beer, a family friend, whose mother, Margit, survived Auschwitz and still had the heavy, blue, number tattoo on the inside of her right arm when I met her back in the 60’s. Margit Weiss (that was her maiden name) faced Dr. Josef Mengele personally, who signaled that she should go to the right, meaning she would live. Linda found Jesus and is now sad that her mother went to hell, because she didn’t accept Him as her Lord and Savior. Yet, Margit gave hope and comfort to others in the camps, told them to trust in God and have faith. But I digress!

It is only human to form relationships and care deeply. Yet, as New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18224441.600-is-empathy-an-animal-quality.html shows, this is not limited to our species. Many animals do this; the evidence is strong. You can debate whether their caring is similar to our caring, but that seems to be secondary. Another article makes the same point: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19826571.700-so-you-think-humans-are-unique.html

Is it the other person who is so important to us, or the relationship? Margit Weiss, in an audiotape in which she described the events of 1944, remembers that her father gave her words of advice and counsel as the family was being rounded up and separated by the police. Those words stayed with her and gave her strength throughout her ordeal in the camps – yet by that time, her father was long dead. She credits this relationship with saving her life by giving her emotional strength – yet, as I said, her father was dead along with the rest of her family. So a relationship, or the value of a relationship, can survive death.

What we can give, let us give to each other now, in our integrity and commitment to be our best. Perhaps a strong relationship, established on the highest principles of selflessness, is like a mechanism constructed out of the strongest materials and by the best craftsmen. It endures and keeps operating, even if one of the makers is no longer around.