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Over the past year, two surprising influences have helped move my life in a more positive direction: Ben Sasse and birds.
As a U.S. senator from Nebraska, Sasse gained a reputation for being a Republican willing to challenge those within his own party when he thought they were wrong. He left office in 2023 to head up the University of Florida for a short tenure. Then, two days before Christmas last year, he announced that he had terminal pancreatic cancer at the age of 53.
Sasse wrote on X: “I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die. Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too—we all do.”
Unlike many public figures, Sasse has chosen to live out his dying in a very outspoken way, interviewing celebrities for his aptly named “Not Dead Yet” podcast and talking to major media outlets about his story, his faith and the things he might have done differently.
Which, of course, gets folks who think we still have plenty of time before shuffling off this mortal coil thinking about what it’s like to get that kind of death sentence out of nowhere.
Sasse told The Wall Street Journal last month that he regrets “missing so many family dinners and Little League games” because of his “workaholism in the past.”
The seemingly small things that happened every day — that at the time felt like they could be missed because they happened every day — suddenly become the whole point. That’s where the birds come in.
When you hit midlife, you suddenly start noticing birds everywhere. The colors. The different sounds they make. Next thing you know, you’ve downloaded the Merlin app and ordered a video bird feeder. We’re on our second video bird feeder because the squirrels chewed through the wires on the first one.
If Sasse’s terminal journey is a necessary, if painful, reminder that there’s more to life than work and politics, the birds are points of light in an otherwise dark, unpredictable world.
They have no knowledge of the Strait of Hormuz or health care costs. They’re busy building nests, laying eggs and fending off the aforementioned squirrels. And there’s something very calming about watching that process play out day after day.
I am no Nero, fiddling while Rome burns. I live and breathe politics and advocacy, and I am keenly aware of the not-so-great moment in history we are living through. Everything is expensive. Freedoms we took for granted feel less certain. People are angry.
Which is all the more reason to lean into the moments of spontaneous delight.
That’s why, for a period of 100 days, I’m devoting my not-even-remotely-influential X account to posting one thing each day that makes me happy.
It’s unlikely that photos of date nights, family, wildlife or stuffed animals are going to go viral. That’s not the intent.
Rather, it’s a commitment to myself to keep my spirits up, set politics aside when possible and recognize the moments in life, fleeting as
it most assuredly is, that bring joy.
Whether on social media or just in your head, I hope you’ll consider doing the same.•
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Chartier is a lifelong Indianapolis resident and owner of Mass Ave Public Relations. Send comments to [email protected].
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