Skip to main content

Death: Life’s Curtain Call

In theory we all know that death is inevitable.  When I type those words, I know the truth of them.  I know them intellectually.  This kind of intellectual knowledge has little affective effect.  I can type those words without any feelings.  It is as if the truth of that knowledge has no immediate effect.  But that does not change the fact.           

At some point the inevitability of death begins to impinge on our own lives.  Death no longer is merely an intellectual idea.  It is no longer merely a possibility.  It becomes reality.  Often it takes on an affective element that moves us to feel things.  It affects us---sometimes mightily.           

Certainly at my age I think about death more than I did when I was in my teens or twenties.  Appropriately most folks in that age range should not be troubled with concerns about death.  But they should not totally ignore it.  The inevitability of death should help us learn to live life with some useful purpose and quest for meaning in our lives.  Because we are likely to live a long time does not mean we should waste most of life on things that don’t matter.           

Things can change.  Things do change.  I remember reading someone quite some time ago who commented that change is the price by which the future invades our lives.  He was correct.  Death is ultimately a change---a radical change for us.  We should not dwell on it, but neither should be dismiss it.  Change happens and sometimes unexpectedly and without warning.           

And so it does.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I was informed that a very good friend of mine had died.  I know that death is inevitable, but this one was not expected.  It is easy to say that he was old enough to die.  So am I!  Because he was not in his teens or twenties, he obviously was more likely to go before folks in those early years.  When I heard the news, I had to begin dealing with the reality that the plans we had been making to see each other had just radically changed.           

When I started to process the news, these are the words I wrote.  “When death becomes personal, we realize how precious and fragile life is.  Be aware, be thankful.  Value your gift of life and make it count.”  I wrote these words for myself and, no doubt, for others who read the stuff that I write.  Many of my readers are younger folks.  I hope they read these words and begin to take them to heart.           

“When death becomes personal…”  That is what happened to me today.  Death was not an intellectual inevitability.  Death assumed and consumed a friend of mine.  Death took a name today.  Death erased someone from my life.  Frequently, we use the phrase, “that’s life.”  I guess today that phrase was re-phrased for me.  Death became personal.  It is not the first time nor will it be the last time.             

“When death becomes personal, we realize how precious and fragile life is.”  There is a deep truth in the second half of that sentence.  I do think life is both precious and fragile.  But too many of my days I live in such a way that I pay no attention to that fact.  Life is a gift.  It is precious.  There is no one like me.  I am precious…and so are you.  But the precious gift that I am is also fragile.  “Handle with care” is still a good motto!           

“When death becomes personal, we realize how precious and fragile life is.  Be aware, be thankful.”  When I wrote those next two phrases, that is how I knew I could respond to the life of my deceased friend and my own yet-to-be-lived days.  Be aware.  I don’t know how else to come to value how precious I am and you are without being aware.  If I am aware, then I have a chance---a chance to live to the very depths of my being.  And secondly, I want to live thankfully.  Thanksgiving is not just some holiday in November with turkey.           

If I can’t be aware and thankful, then I am the turkey!  If life is a gift, then I want to be cognizant of its beauty and we thankful.  If I can manage that every day, then I am on my way to a spirit-filled life.          

This is my way to “value your gift of life and make it count.”  Make my life count is both the goal and the process of living.  I make my life count if it is lived for some good and noble purpose.  It counts if I make a difference, instead of making a mess.  I make my life count one day at a time.  The numbers will add up.           

When my own death brings down the curtain, I hope the sum total of my life is significant.  Thanks to my friend, I am both reminded and inspired to keep making each day count.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-Thou Relationships

Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber.   I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s.   It was already a famous book by then.   I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it.   It has been a while since I looked at the book.             Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks?   I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece.   I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation.   I wish more people read him and took him seriously.           ...
13 comments
Read more

Spiritual Commitment

I was reading along in a very nice little book and hit these lines about commitment.   The author, Mitch Albom, uses the voice of one of the main characters of his nonfiction book about faith to reflect on commitment.   The voice belongs to Albom’s old rabbi of the Jewish synagogue where he went until his college days.   The old rabbi, Albert Lewis, says “the word ‘commitment’ has lost its meaning.”    The rabbi continues in a way that surely would have many people saying, “Amen!”   About commitment he says, “I’m old enough when it used to be a positive.   A committed person was someone to be admired.   He was loyal and steady.   Now a commitment is something you avoid.   You don’t want to tie yourself down.”   I also think I am old enough to know that commitment was usually a positive word.   I can think of a range of situations in which commitment would have been seen to be positive.   For example, growing up was f...
20 comments
Read more

Inward Journey and Outward Pilgrimage

There are so many different ways to think about the spiritual life.   And of course, in our country there are so many different variations of religious experiences.   There are liberals and conservatives.   There are fundamentalists and Pentecostals.   Besides the dizzying variety of Christian traditions, there are many different non-Christian traditions.   There are the major traditions, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on.   There are the slightly more obscure traditions, such as Sikhism, Jainism, etc.   And then there are more fringe groups and, even, pseudo-religions.   There are defining doctrines and religious practices.   Some of these are specific to a particular tradition or a few traditions, such as the koan , which is used in Zen Buddhism for example.   Other defining doctrines or practices are common across the religious board.   Something like meditation would be a good example.   Christians meditate;...
10 comments
Read more