Bruce Hornsby is one of my favorite musicians, and “The Show Goes On” is one of his songs that I adore the most. There’s something about the way the piano slowly, quietly introduces the song, then builds into something that’s both contemplative and sure, confused yet hopeful.

It’s a fitting melody and appropriate title for a phrase that’s so applicable to life on any given day. Something didn’t go as planned? The show goes on. A loved one passed? The show goes on — even though we may wish otherwise. Long face? Crying? The show goes on.

Regardless of the act or scene that we find ourselves in, the show does, indeed, go on. Even after a stage play or a movie, there are the credits, the discussion about the film itself, maybe even an after-party. Interpret that as you wish.

Time passes by — sometimes slowly, sometimes at a pace that feels like the decades have transpired in a matter of seconds.

You’d better try to find it before it passes you by.

It passes, yes, but time that passes someone by is the worst kind of passing. Ever. Whether we’re paralyzed by fear, loss, insecurity, a memory or something not yet known, a dormant, uncaring, disinterested life is one that is in desperate need of CPR lest we perish entirely. It gives new meaning to “passing,” really. But what that CPR is will vary from person to person, as well as from situation to situation. And yet it’s there, yes — that life-saving grace is absolutely out there.

Where will you find yours? What is yours?

The show goes on as the autumn’s coming as the summer’s all gone. Still, without you, the show goes on.

We’re all in our own show. We all have our cast of characters — some lead roles, and many that are supporting actors and actresses. Some story arcs are wild and unimaginable, others may seem quiet, useless or lackluster. But a story is a story, and regardless of who comes in and out of our own, ours will go on for as long as it lasts. Living for the soul and doing by the heart is the task in between point A and Z, in my opinion. And for knowing that the show will go on until its end and continue to bestow lessons upon me from which I can learn and use to inform my next decision, my next scene or my next act, I am thankful.