Dean Barnett has had a lethal chronic illness since the day he was born. Staying alive has required constant effort and a lot of luck. There have been good times and bad times. And occasionally there has been enlightenment. EXCERPT: As I grew sicker, I had what for me was an extremely comforting insight. I came to view serious and progressive illness as an ever constricting circle with oneself at the center. The interior of the circle represents the contents of one’s life. As the circle gets smaller, things that were inside get forced out. Some of these things are dearly missed; others that were once thought precious get forced to the exterior and turn out to go surprisingly unlamented. At the innermost point of the circle are the things that really matter: family, faith, love. These things stay with you until the day you die. At the very end, because the circle has shrunk down to its center, they’re all you have left. But as we approach that end, we finally realize that all along, they were what mattered most. As a consequence, life often remains beautiful and worthwhile right up until the end. ____________ Dean Barnett is a Staff Writer for the Weekly Standard. His writing has also appeared in National Review Online, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Boston Globe, HughHewitt.com and Townhall.com. He regularly guest-hosts the nationally broadcast Hugh Hewitt Radio Show. Dean has been battling Cystic Fibrosis for four decades. |