While sitting in the shadow of death, which one does daily amid the troubles and tribulations of this world, I mused anew upon some phases of human life. In my ponderings, I seemed to hear a voice within declare, "Life is simply a mauvais quart d'heure (wretched quarter of an hour) made up of exquisite moments" (Oscar Wilde, "A Woman of No Importance," Act 2).
I thought about that. It is certain that, in the brief space of a lifetime, one experiences bitter moments. It is also certain that, on the way to the grave, one also experiences sweet moments that free us of or temper the weight and pain of life. The sweetness of life is intensified through adversity, and vice versa.
Thus, my thoughts proceeded toward the human space, or the space of life -- place space and time space -- in which one lives. In such a space of life the human mind tends to move in three basic directions: making, doing, and knowing or learning.