So if you're a Grey's Anatomy fan, you would already know where I am going from the title of this post. If I got a dollar for every time that phrase was mentioned in the two-hour episode of last Thursday, I'd have gone on this vacation now. For the rest of you non-Grey's fans, even if you live under the rock, you must know that two weeks ago, a major character was killed off the show. It sparked an outrage among fans, so much that some really jobless person started a petition to bring the character back. Some ninety thousand other jobless fellows actually signed the petition but that's a story for another day. Shonda Rhimes and her work ethics are also stories for another day. Anyway, the two-hour episode of last week was meant to show us how Meredith handled the death of her husband and father of her two (well, now three) children.
See, it irritates me when folks go "Oh get over yourselves. In real life death does not annouce itself, it just comes. Tragedies happen all the time..." HONEY, if I wanted to experience real life happenings, I don't need a T.V show for that. All I need to do is turn on the 11pm news or take a good look around me. Why do you think we watch T.V shows? We need to escape our realities once in a while. Let me tell you, life is messed up. We all know that. But for one person to lose her mother, sister, step-mother, one of her best-friends, her husband, be on a plane that crashed, drown, have her hand on a bomb in a chest cavity... in the space of 11 years is on a new LOW. I mean it was bad enough a neurosurgeon had to die while he was saving other people's lives, but to now find out after his death that the wife was pregnant? Shonda Rhimes is the real dark and twisty person, not Meredith. Still, life does happen.
So, what does the expression "The Carousel Never Stops Turning" mean? In the most basic form, it was a proverb the main character's mother, Ellis Grey used to explain that life always goes on. Even when we lose the most important people in our lives, the carousel still keeps turning. A carousel is like a merry-go-round type thingy used in amusement parks.
The more I pondered on that sentence, the more sense it made to me. The recent demise of one half of a power couple I GREATLY admired, Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg just reiterated the meaning of the expression to me. Dave passed away very suddenly last week, while on vacation in Mexico. That and some other recent unfortunate happenings I can't really talk about here have convinced me how fragile life is. But besides the untimely demise of people, the more tragic situation is the loved ones they leave behind. They wouldn't know how to continue with life normally. I mean, they would want to, but then they would remember the emptiness a loved one left behind. It is indeed, in the words of Ellen Pompeo, learning to move on in the face of the impossible. I really empathize with people mourning because the world doesn't care to stop for just a millisecond, just because they are mourning a deep loss. The world just keeps moving, and going about its business like nothing happened.
This might even serve as a wake up call to the rest of us. While we struggle to achieve the optimal, it's always wise to remember to take a minute for ourselves. Whatever that may mean; relaxing, sleeping, laughing, hanging out, watching t.v...whatever at all. Because if we work ourselves to death, life moves on, unfortunately. Yes, you are the best at that job, but if you are not around, you will be replaced. It's just life. There's hardly anyone to blame for this carousel that won't just stop turning. However, the fact that "life goes on" does not mean the person mourning should ultimately fly back to normal. There's no timeline to this. Some people get up the next morning, wash their faces and get back to "normal". Some others never actually stop mourning; a part of them is gone forever. There are some who are in between, time heals their wounds, and they eventually get back. Whichever one it is, it is very valid. People should respect them for these. I couldn't believe my sight when I saw people complaining that Sheryl had not made a speech or announced what exactly killed her husband. There are wolves on cyberspace guys, animals in human form, I tell you. Some others were just pissed she's rich. Therefore, she should be able to hire nannies and enough help. There are insane people behind computers guys, insane. Anyway, to Sheryl and every other person mourning the death of a loved one, your feelings are valid. Only God can grant you the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss. You are never alone. God is with you. And oh, if it helps, (and this is silly) but the last two episodes of Grey's did show how Meredith demonstrated strength in the face of the impossible. You don't even have to be mourning to be inspired by the strength. It was a HUGE reminder to me that, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. This can be anything.
To life.
To loss.
and
To love.
Because I can not possibly dedicate this post to anyone in particular,
I dedicate this post to everyone who has at one point or the other lost a dear one.
Remember,
You are not alone.
Love,
I
P:S.: Welcome to everyone who stumbles on my blog through this page. I will admit this is incredibly old, so I am overjoyed to see people still enjoy it as much. That said, here are other, probably better, posts on this page I really think you will love. Please check them out, and remember: you are always welcome here:
I just stumbled upon this blog post today while looking for for this exact Ellis Grey quote. Today SHOULD have been my final day of my clinicals to complete my education, but the pandemic has forced us all to shift.... Ellis' words serve as a reminder to us all!
ReplyDeletehmmmph, thanks so much for not just reading, but also dropping a comment. It blows my mind how much this post has resonated with people, even FIVE years after it was written. You are right, in many ways this pandemic is the greatest reminder of how the carousel would never stop turning and how we have no one is to blame for that fact. Yet, it is also a reminder that this too SHALL pass. I'm so sorry about your clinicals. But I know you will make a great [healthcare professional]. Good luck with everything, and...please stop by anytime. You are always welcome here :)
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