7 years ago I had cataract surgery, without which I would be blind.
2 1/2 years ago, my dentist, in a routine check up, noticed a growth in my lower mouth. If he had not spotted it, and I had not had surgery 2 months later, I would have been dead within the year. As it was, I lost 5 teeth and have permanent numbness in the lower right side of my mouth - for a long time contemplative practitioner, what a wonderful daily reminder of death.
About 10 years ago, I brought my keyboard into the ICU where my wife and I sat with my father - nearly 97 - and softly played music for him, for nearly 3 hours, as he gradually slowed and ultimately took his last breath.
Nobody knows the exact moment of their death, but it’s likely, now being 73, that it will come within about 15 years (possibly tonight or tomorrow, but fairly likely 10-15 years). I have recently taken to sharing this with friends in their 20s and 30s, wishing someone had offered me this 45 years ago: “Imagine you KNEW with certainty that in exactly 15 years, you would die - a calm, quiet peaceful death, but nevertheless, before you turn 50. How would that change how you live each day?”
7 years ago I had cataract surgery, without which I would be blind.
2 1/2 years ago, my dentist, in a routine check up, noticed a growth in my lower mouth. If he had not spotted it, and I had not had surgery 2 months later, I would have been dead within the year. As it was, I lost 5 teeth and have permanent numbness in the lower right side of my mouth - for a long time contemplative practitioner, what a wonderful daily reminder of death.
About 10 years ago, I brought my keyboard into the ICU where my wife and I sat with my father - nearly 97 - and softly played music for him, for nearly 3 hours, as he gradually slowed and ultimately took his last breath.
Nobody knows the exact moment of their death, but it’s likely, now being 73, that it will come within about 15 years (possibly tonight or tomorrow, but fairly likely 10-15 years). I have recently taken to sharing this with friends in their 20s and 30s, wishing someone had offered me this 45 years ago: “Imagine you KNEW with certainty that in exactly 15 years, you would die - a calm, quiet peaceful death, but nevertheless, before you turn 50. How would that change how you live each day?”
Thank you for this beautiful set of reflections.
And thank YOU for this welcome reminder. I’ll be 50 in almost exactly 15 years!
Memento vivere <3
Enjoy every moment of the journey to its fullest (and then you'll likely have 50 more!! - but don't think about that until 2040)