ARE YOU AT PEACE WITH YOUR MORTALITY?

The cyclone in Myanmar left more than 60,000 people dead.  In the China quake, 12,000.  These are initial figures which will increase dramatically in the coming days as rescue workers dig deeper into the rubble.  That’s how fragile human lives are — alive and kicking today, dead and stiff tomorrow.  Myanmar and China today.  It could be Metro Manila or Cebu or Mindanao tomorrow.  God forbid.

But man is also threatened by disease, hunger, war and man-made disasters.  It is the cycle of life that we are going to die at some future time.  This is an event that is certain to happen.  We just do not know when unless you yourself choose to end it by committing harakiri.  We sometimes postpone our date with death, i.e. prolong our lives with medication, but no matter how we try to avoid the inevitable, it will soon catch up on us at the appointed time. 

Some live their lives as if there’s no tomorrow.  They amass so much wealth without thinking that all they need is a few square meters of lot in the cemetery.  They abuse their bodies only to discover that even the most skillful doctor is unable to reverse the trend.  They abuse their power and destroy other people’s lives, unmindful of the possibility that their children or their children’s children might bear the brunt of their indiscretions.  When Hades comes knocking at their doorsteps, they suddenly realize that it’s too late and that there’s nothing that could prevent their journey to another dimension. 

After undergoing four major operations in this borrowed time of 33 years, 4 months and 4 days, I can say I have long been at peace with my mortality.  I’ve accepted that all that I am and all that I have could be gone at the wink of an eye.  Nope, I’m not going to die anytime soon because of some disease or whatever.  This is just a reflection and a sort of reminder that death comes to us all.  Nobody is exempted. 

How about you?  Have you come to terms with your mortality?