Mortality’s Lessons

The hardest part of our mortality is recognizing just that. I have given lots of thought to the beyond as I suppose many of you have. It makes me anxious, I must admit. Where will I land? Where will those I love land? The unknown has a way of landing us sideways, sometimes upside down. Yikes.

Today, my mortality came front and center. It wasn’t that I had some chronic ailment that plagued my central focus. It’s just that my specific ailment, maybe not so chronic, had me landing in the realm of fear. Of course, I imagined it in epic proportion as being the beginning of the end! Not so true. But when your life feels confused, perhaps out of control, you imagine the worse. Answering the kind but probing questions of medical professionals had me second guessing myself. Was I being a nuisance? Was I one of those patients they all wanted to avoid? Oh, my, am I a piece of work?

My doctor suggested otherwise. She took my ailments and anxiety into account, finally suggesting stress was a factor. Through her and other staff members who took in my so called case, I realized again that I would be fine, with a little help, and a little perspective.

There is no magic bullet to managing life. We have to take several deep breaths and consider we are not alone. Others face the challenge, some more than others, that life offers no fast solution. Our blessings come in many forms. But the biggest blessing is remembering that time is short.

We cannot forget the brief respite we are given to live our lives as fully as we can. In a blink of an eye, our mortality claims our attention, telling us that those we love deserve our appreciation. So is also true for the life we so wish to live!

I am grateful for those who remind me that we are each for the other. I do not want to take friends and family for granted. At some point, friends and family move on, to new horizons, to another life. Will we be at the juncture in which they do? I hope so, cheering them on perhaps to the next chapter!

The daily, moment by moment, consideration of all who bless our lives is essential. At the end of day, I know we all hope to live the life that never dulls. It starts with brushing off our fear, putting one foot in front of another, giving a loved one a hug and embracing fully ourselves while we are at it.