Mortality

     I guess most people at some point in their lives think about dying.  As you get older, you realize that you are mortal and that dying will be a fact of life for you.  I have known for many years that I have more days behind me than I do ahead of me and for each year I get older, those days yet to come become fewer and fewer.

     It has entered my mind that, if given a choice, I would prefer not to die.  This is not because I am afraid of dying.  Rather, I think of all the unfinished business I have to do and need some “extra” time to get it done (although I suspect that no matter how much extra time I would be given, I would procrastinate, as I am guilty of doing now, and would never complete those important projects). 

     Then I realize that no one is immune to death.  All the great people of this world have died.  People that you would think were so important that they should have received a “pass” on dying.  Compared to those great philosophers, artists, physicians, politicians, etc., what right do I have to avoid the inevitable?

     As I said, I am not afraid of dying.  I believe in God and Heaven and look forward to the day when I will leave this earth and finally learn what dying really means.  However, even if there is no God or Heaven, and there is nothing more after death but our return to dust, I would not be disappointed.  Whatever awaits us after death, we all get to experience it eventually.  In that regard, every person who lives gets treated equally in death.  In a way it is comforting to know that we are on equal footing with all the great minds and talents that have ever lived.

     What is more important is how we live.  I admit that I wish I had lived more, cared more, worked more, and gave more.  But I suspect most people feel that way as they get closer to the end.  I hope to have double-digit years left to live.  I certainly want to stay around as long as I am “allowed” to see my children and grandchildren enjoy the opportunities life has given them.  What a joy it is to have such a wonderful wife and family.  I could not have been more blessed!

     We have all been given the greatest gift of all…the gift of life.  And one thing I have learned is that “life is to die for.”