Last week, a couple of my friends were in a horrible car wreck. It happened a few days after I saw them at the farmer’s market and their infant baby was in the vehicle. The car flipped three times, but everyone survived. A true miracle.
When I got that phone call, it kinda felt like how I felt when I read this article. I really don’t know how to describe it, but I find this topic (simply put: “I might be dead soon”) to be...
this is going to sound crazy...
soothing.
Because: Life itself is out of our control. Let go. Be free and be alive. Right now. That’s all there is to do and it makes everything (anxiety, stress, I just dropped an egg on the floor) seem so trivial as to be downright funny.
‘I might be dead soon’ articles have always been popular on Readup. We always need reminders, I guess. And we always deserve to feel good and lucky, because life itself is good and lucky, and that’s what someone who looks at death will tell you.
Good point. My wife tells the story of driving in DC traffic and being so annoyed...then passing a flipped school bus (all the people were okay). She thought, I can't believe I was so annoyed with traffic.
Elizabeth Kubler Ross, who studied death and dying, said “It’s people’s denial of death that allows them to lead such mundane and meaningless lives.” I think there is some truth to that. Perhaps in facing death, there is a much stronger desire to live. This young man’s story is difficult to read, much less be the one living it. I truly can’t imagine it. This past year brought death up close and personal. How has it changed us?
My mom died when I was young. I was four, I was in the car with her and my younger brothers who were 2 years old and 2 months old. It's weird but I always thought I would die when she died. Her dad died (suicide) when she was 4 and he was 27. My mom died when I was four and she was 27. I never thought I would see 28. Younger me lived life seeking thrills and experiences, most of them good.
I turned 28 and realized I need to actually invest in my life. I still know I'm going to die, but I'm learning to plant trees and hope to see them grow.
This last year gave me the kick in the pants I needed to go searching for answers I've wanted for a long time. I reached out to the man who killed my mom. I found out I have a sister from my mom and met her - it was awesome and now my family is even bigger than before. I've been learning a ton about my mom, which is another way of saying that I've been learning a ton about me. One thing I didn't know, my mom fostered 19 kids before dying. She also organized a lawn service for spouses of deployed Marines (she had been a Marine and my Dad was a Marine at the time). I found a video of her from a local news station. Two months before she died she was recognized as the Marine Family of the Quarter, the video was the first time I had heard her speak in thirty years. She said something along the lines of, 'We have to use our time to be kind.' Some one asked her what she would do when my dad was deployed (Gulf War was happening) she had five sons and fosters and all the rest going on. She said she would keep on and keep being kind.
I'm going to die someday. I hope I'll be as kind as my mother with the time I have left.
SEnkey, I am so deeply touched and moved. It’s is just an incredible story, I can’t thank you enough for sharing. Personal stories add a dimension to this forum that I am so grateful for. It’s what creates a community. Thrilled you got to meet your sister and found out more about your mom - and yourself. That is priceless. I feel your mom is so proud of you.
This is such a touching story. Thanks for sharing, SEnkey.
I turned 28 and realized I need to actually invest in my life. I still know I'm going to die, but I'm learning to plant trees and hope to see them grow.
One of the best metaphors I’ve heard for modern life is that it’s a car headed toward a cliff’s edge while billboards line both sides of the road, blocking the driver’s view. Those billboards are all the distractions that society has to offer. Netflix. Sports. Movies. Music. Everything you consume to avoid thinking about where you are ultimately headed. And those billboards cover your view until the end of the road, when suddenly the cliff approaches. Then, as your car is flying in the air, that’s when you start thinking about death and the meaning of life.
It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done, or how much medical care your money can buy. We all have to face that moment. It’s the only moment when every person on Earth is truly equal. We come into this world with nothing and leave it the same way.
#perspective
Last week, a couple of my friends were in a horrible car wreck. It happened a few days after I saw them at the farmer’s market and their infant baby was in the vehicle. The car flipped three times, but everyone survived. A true miracle.
When I got that phone call, it kinda felt like how I felt when I read this article. I really don’t know how to describe it, but I find this topic (simply put: “I might be dead soon”) to be...
this is going to sound crazy...
soothing.
Because: Life itself is out of our control. Let go. Be free and be alive. Right now. That’s all there is to do and it makes everything (anxiety, stress, I just dropped an egg on the floor) seem so trivial as to be downright funny.
‘I might be dead soon’ articles have always been popular on Readup. We always need reminders, I guess. And we always deserve to feel good and lucky, because life itself is good and lucky, and that’s what someone who looks at death will tell you.
Good point. My wife tells the story of driving in DC traffic and being so annoyed...then passing a flipped school bus (all the people were okay). She thought, I can't believe I was so annoyed with traffic.
🎯
Elizabeth Kubler Ross, who studied death and dying, said “It’s people’s denial of death that allows them to lead such mundane and meaningless lives.” I think there is some truth to that. Perhaps in facing death, there is a much stronger desire to live. This young man’s story is difficult to read, much less be the one living it. I truly can’t imagine it. This past year brought death up close and personal. How has it changed us?
My mom died when I was young. I was four, I was in the car with her and my younger brothers who were 2 years old and 2 months old. It's weird but I always thought I would die when she died. Her dad died (suicide) when she was 4 and he was 27. My mom died when I was four and she was 27. I never thought I would see 28. Younger me lived life seeking thrills and experiences, most of them good.
I turned 28 and realized I need to actually invest in my life. I still know I'm going to die, but I'm learning to plant trees and hope to see them grow.
This last year gave me the kick in the pants I needed to go searching for answers I've wanted for a long time. I reached out to the man who killed my mom. I found out I have a sister from my mom and met her - it was awesome and now my family is even bigger than before. I've been learning a ton about my mom, which is another way of saying that I've been learning a ton about me. One thing I didn't know, my mom fostered 19 kids before dying. She also organized a lawn service for spouses of deployed Marines (she had been a Marine and my Dad was a Marine at the time). I found a video of her from a local news station. Two months before she died she was recognized as the Marine Family of the Quarter, the video was the first time I had heard her speak in thirty years. She said something along the lines of, 'We have to use our time to be kind.' Some one asked her what she would do when my dad was deployed (Gulf War was happening) she had five sons and fosters and all the rest going on. She said she would keep on and keep being kind.
I'm going to die someday. I hope I'll be as kind as my mother with the time I have left.
SEnkey, I am so deeply touched and moved. It’s is just an incredible story, I can’t thank you enough for sharing. Personal stories add a dimension to this forum that I am so grateful for. It’s what creates a community. Thrilled you got to meet your sister and found out more about your mom - and yourself. That is priceless. I feel your mom is so proud of you.
This is such a touching story. Thanks for sharing, SEnkey.
🙏
I really liked this quote too!