The What's-it-all-about-Alfie? question

When life perplexes me, as it does often, I find myself singing (well, I can't sing, so I just hum) that line from the original Alfie movie. I usually conclude that I have no more idea of what's it's all about than Alfie did. I remain in the dark as to the meaning of life.

But last night I went to a 75th birthday party for someone I have known since he was sixteen and I was fifteen. That's a lot of years. It's hard to describe the party without telling everyone's life's story. Suffice to say, there were many people there from my past and present lives—people I had not seen for years and people whom are inextricably tied to my heart. I hugged relatives and friends who now have gray hair; I marveled at how much or how little we had changed; I treasured every conversation, no matter how brief.

It was a bittersweet event, tinged with memories and emotion. I drove home replaying the tape of the evening in my my mind, and before I dozed off, I had a single moment of clarity. I knew the answer.

Alfie, pay attention. It's all about the connections we make with others in our brief journey through this life. It's about relationships.