Skip to main content

You Are Going to Die



         


       I know, it’s a morbid topic, but it is absolutely true.  We will all die.  If you think about it, even if we live to be 117 years old (the age I will be if I get to see the year 2100) it’s just the blink of an eye in the grand scheme.  
Ever since my grandfather passed away last summer, my own mortality has been weighing on me.  The thought that in ten years, I will be 45; the last ten years have flown by.  I could realistically be a grandpa.  I fall into the trap of what I haven’t gotten accomplished.  My professional life is just barely starting, my colleagues are mid- to late-twenties when they start.  I haven’t traveled to enrich myself.  I could go on…





Realistically, it’s not a bad thing to finally face and accept one’s own mortality.  Thinking of how you want to spend the next 70 years.  What you want to leave behind, in terms of your loved ones memories.  How full a life you want to live, and what that means for you.  Some people want to create.  They will feel fulfilled if they have painted, or written or built xyz.  Some want to travel, others want to learn or fill their days with the love of their children.  There is no right or wrong to this, but we need to think of how we want to live our lives and potentially our legacy. 
I do truly believe that no matter how we want to fill our lives, growth is important.  That could very realistically mean growing your children’s memories of us.  It could mean reading about something new, or traveling somewhere new and engrossing ourselves into the culture.  It could mean growing spiritually, seeking out one’s higher power and striving to live according to that. 
There is a Chinese proverb that states: “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the second best time is now.”  If you feel like you’ve missed the boat on what you want to leave behind, you haven’t.  Start taking those piano lessons, better yet: take piano lessons with your child.  Twenty years from now, you will both be far better pianists than you are now and you child will have the magical memory of sharing that experience with you. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pain and mental health

                One of the symptoms of depression is vague aches and pains.   One of the complications to chronic pain is depression.   For many it can be similar to the question regarding the chicken or the egg.   Did significant trauma at a young age (even unremembered) cause the brain to grow weary of constant pain, resulting in depressive and anxious symptoms?   Or did depression which came on in adolescence develop into physical symptoms that have grown into more severe and frequent complaints?                 Does the question even matter?   Do we really care if the person has been suffering from pain and is depressed from it, versus if the person has been depressed and is suffering from pain because of it?   There are many who would argue that it doesn’t matter.   We can be given psychotrop...

Woes of the Weekend Warrior

                You don’t have to worry about this micro-trauma crap, right?   You pick up heavy objects 4 days a week and participate in tough mudder and run a 10k every weekend, so you’re obviously in too good of shape to need to worry about this.   Micro-trauma is to be worried about by the obese guy who sits in his cubicle all day.   … Right?                 Maybe… Maybe you move enough throughout the day.   Maybe you are perfectly mindful of your posture.   Maybe you have escaped what many people have experienced, so far.   Realistically, (if you’ve read any pieces from my blog in the past you know this) there is a cross-section of the population whom I believe don’t required chiropractic care weekly, or even monthly, (or even at all?) to live a good, long, healthy life.   I think everyone ca...

The Downfall to Dieting

                Have you experienced the exuberance of victory when dieting, only to be brought crashing down a week or two later when your “celebratory dinner” turned into a reversal of all your hard work?   The entire diet industry is built on this.   Weight Watchers doesn’t become enormously successful unless it’s designed for you to need the structure to maintain your weight.                   What if I told you there were only a few, easy-to-follow rules to follow and for no money at all, you could start down the path of a healthy LIFESTYLE?   That’s the key… stop referring to these changes as diets.   While, generally speaking, the word diet refers to food choices throughout societies and lifespans, it has taken on the connotation of finite changes to reach a specific weight loss goal.   Also, ra...