Life, reduced to its simplest terms, is time--weeks, months, years of time with which to do, theoretically, as we choose. I say theoretically because practically speaking by the time we have matured enough to make wise choices, we have already chosen paths which have greatly restricted our free time. Imagine being given four hours, three times a week, that you can count on to do with as you please. What would you choose? Would you choose, 1: to be entertained, 2: to listen to great music, 3: to read great books, 4: to contemplate and meditate upon the meaning of life, or 5: to write and share these musings with others? Well, we dialysis patients may not realize it, but we have received that gift, free choice for 12 hours a week (as long as you don't leave the chair). Entertainment is big business in the US and most choose that. However I choose all of the other four. Writing is difficult because my fistula is in my right forearm, but I have learned to construct a document in my head. Laboriously, on three by five cards, I print, with my left hand, a few words to remind me of what I have thought of as a paragraph. Later I can quickly recall and type it up on the word processor. Actually, I find sharing these pieces with others to be the most difficult since I can't get around easily. Perhaps others have the same problem.
