Death and the Adders

[adderslj]

You know, until three years ago, I'd only ever been to one funeral. In the last three years, there's been Dad's, Grandma's, Diane's and now Linda's.

Maybe 30s is that time of your life. Your parents' generation starts to dwindle and friends are struck down with more regularity. This is probably the way it'll be for the time being: one or two funerals a year. Death intrudes into life with greater regularity.

Perhaps this is why I've become less willing to expose myself to stupidity and pointless conflict. The transitory nature of life keeps getting hammered home to me right now - I watches three of the above people suffer as they fought with cancer - but not in that posing, teenage goth way. No, this is more fundamental. Our time on this precious ball of mud and water is limited. The time we share with people we like is incredibly limited. Don't waste that time. Don't let idiots waste that time for you.

Sure, I believe in life after death, but like most Christians who are paying attention, I realise that Jesus' teachings are for more about life before death. And that time is both precious and God-given. It should not be squandered.

Yeah, I'm just back from a funeral. Can you tell?

Comments

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

I'm in much the same boat as you. Until very recently I'd never had anyone close to me die, so it's been strange and occasionally difficult as I watch my grandparents and other older relatives start to dwindle in number, never mind the occasional friend or acquaintance struck down before his expected time.

[slog.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[rigistrade.livejournal.com]

This is something I've rarely admitted but during the course of my life I've lost 3 people that were close to me. Yet, I have stayed away from the funerals not because I dreaded them, but I dreaded the fact that each time I was unable to cry for the loss. Somehow I talked myself into considering death as "the next step of life" and felt ashamed for being so cold. Now, now I fear the next time I will have to come to terms with the loss of someone I know because I will be just as ashamed again and regret that I'm unable to cry at such times.

While it's and odd thing, that and the thing I talked about in my LJ a few days ago, led me to the same conclusion as you. Don't waste time. Enjoy life and time. Enjoy your friends.

While we've never met in person (hopefully that'll change someday) I consider you a friend and know that I always enjoy our chats even if they are rare these days.

Take good care of yourself.

*hugs*

[doctorcaligari.livejournal.com]

My condolences...

Yes, life is precious and one of the most precious things about it is the people you get to know on your little sojourn, which is why I think Christopher Morley was probably quite correct in his prediction that "If we all discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to tell them that they loved them" -- prosaic, trite even, but yeah, I'd definitely be in that phone booth.

[byzantine-ruins.livejournal.com]

And now I'm going to tell you something ‑ about man's true form. His eyes yearn to see colors, his ears to hear sound, his mouth to taste flavors, his will and spirit to achieve fulfillment. A man of the greatest longevity will live a hundred years; one of middling longevity, eighty years; and one of the least longevity, sixty years. Take away the time lost in nursing illnesses, mourning the dead, worry and anxiety, and in this life there are no more than four or five days in a month when a man can open his mouth and laugh. Heaven and earth are unending, but man has his time of death. Take this time‑bound toy, put it down in these unending spaces, and whoosh! ‑ it is over as quickly as the passing of a swift horse glimpsed through a crack in the wall! No man who is incapable of gratifying his desires and cherishing the years fate has given him can be called a master of the Way.

http://users.compaqnet.be/cn111132/chuang-tzu/29.htm

[nortysarah.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Because my dad's the same age as most peoples grandfathers, we went through a ten year period of all of his friends dying. It was horrible. He doesn't have a single living friend who he knew when he was younger and that made me feel so sorry for him, but he was ok about it. To quote "well they all deserved it... We've all pickled our livers and smoked 40 a day for the last 60 years and partied our lives away. About bloody time!"

Kinda weird though!

[barbarina.livejournal.com]

I've never been to a funeral. That's not because no one died around me. I just want to remember them alive.