“Oh my name is Frank O’Meara
And from Sydney I did come.
I taught the French to learn to speak
My Australian native tongue.”
My eulogist is unlikely to list this as one of my most remarkable achievements. It’s true that I was thoroughly committed to making France anglophone and even to teaching the French to pronounce the word “thoroughly”. But this was a side-line. With four score behind me and (far) less than one ahead of me, what, I ask myself, have I accomplished, what difference did I make, what contribution did I make to the stock of human knowledge and to the well-being of my fellow-travelers ?
Some people blow their own Trump-et. The Donald never heard of Bobby Burns (and if he did he probably thinks he was a boxer) and his “Would that we could see ourselves as others see us”. It doesn’t matter a ratz what I think I have achieved. But I do wonder whether anything I have done – or written – will be appreciated or even remembered by at least a few of my contemporaries (that would be miracle enough, without talking about future generations !). I guess we all need to make sense of our lives, to believe that we left the world better than it was when we entered it. Few can make that boast. But instead of trying – absurdly – to pat myself on the back, let me share a few of the regrets I have, now that I have entered the Autumn of my years.
- I would love to have had the intelligence of Hitchens, the talent of Pavarotti and the humility of Federer.
- I would love to have published half a dozen books that brought enlightenment and liberation to believers.
- I would love to have been a better son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, colleague and blogger.
That’s about it. What I do NOT regret is having been a Franciscan and a Catholic priest (nor, obviously, having renounced both of these meaningless states of life), though I do regret having taken so long to become an atheist. Apart from that, I realize that though my life, compared with so many others, has been largely insignificant, I have loved living it and enjoying it for so long and with such luck. I could and should have been a better person. I got more than I gave. But, as lives go, mine was a bitta aw rye (I do NOT regret having been born Australian).
RIDENDA RELIGIO
Amy Green said:
A very soul-baring post, which I thank you for sharing with us readers. Something you can put on your list of accomplishments is your humility, your caring of those around you, knowing how to be a good friend, and your many gifts you share with us all via your wonderful sense of humor, your incredible writing skills and (for those who worked with you) your amazing speaking and training skills. So flush those regrets down the toilet, (zee toilette) and remember that the lucky ones, who are happy and enjoy being kind to others, are not the meek, but will inherit the world (as we know it). And so you shall.
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Rosemary Green said:
Frank: I am positive you have touched many lives in your life. You certainly have touched mine and I am so appreciative of your blogs, thoughts, challenges to think at a higher level and to be a better person. Thank you for all that and more. Rosemary
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frankomeara said:
582 posts. Good to know that some people appreciate them. Many thanks, Rosemary.
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Amy Green said:
Love to see my Mom commenting on the blog! Go, Mom, go!
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frankomeara said:
They’re not Irish, maybe ecologists but definitely Greene !
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