A lesson to live by
Apr 19, 22:59
Never wake someone you love with bad news. The time between when a person wakes and when he comes to his senses is unique: it is the only time in his life when the world and all its problems are unable to penetrate his being. These sparse seconds can be the happiest moments of his day, if not his life, and care must be taken to not hasten their departure.
Most bad news can be safely kept secret until sometime later; afternoons are particularly well suited to this type of disclosure. Should a situation occur where delay is either inappropriate or extremely ill-advised, one must wait until the person has left his place of sleep of his own accord and entered the living space at large. Usually this means waiting for the sleeper to leave his bedroom and move to the kitchen/bathroom/whatever.
Thomas Gray wrote ’...ignorance is bliss…’, and while intellectuals will debate the issue ad infinitum, the truth is that ignorance can only be lost, and never found. There is little worse than the realizations brought on by reality and responsibility setting in, especially to a mind not fully revived and able to evaluate the severity of circumstances. Try not to take the precious seconds preceding this away from anyone.