"Nothing is certain but death and taxes", Benjamin Franklin is said to have said, (unless, of course, your taxes are still under audit?!)
All of us will die, and since my previous blog announcing the unexpected death of two clergy friends in their sixties, I have continued to be reminded of this fact with the expected deaths of a dear member of my previous parish (nearly ninety) and Kathleen's sister (only fifty-nine).
"Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande, is the book which, along with other factors, inspired the vision behind the Thomas Center for Senior Leadership. I have not finished reading it, but the chapter titles identify the issues it confronts: The Independent Self; Things Fall Apart; Dependence; Assistance; A Better Life; Letting Go; Hard Conversations; Courage. The subtitle of the book is also important to note: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Kathleen and I are more aware of our mortality not just because of the deaths of family and friends in the short eighteen days we've been here, (not to mention stories we have heard about death by bears and climbers falling) but also because we are living in a community where we are daily eyewitnesses to people "aging in place", confronting the challenges that come with that fact, and doing it with grace and courage and yes, sometimes frustration.
We are being blessed by this continuing education experience more, I'm sure, than we realize.
John
P.S. Quote from book review: "Gawande reveals the suffering produced by medicine's neglect of the wishes people might have beyond mere survival...this book which has already changed the national conversation on aging and death, shows how the ultimate goal is not to have a good death but a good life---all the way to the very end."
I suppose because of the circle of our friends and family are the age we are, we...me, anyway, attend more funerals that weddings or baptisms. We each have our own way(s) of pondering the last days, be they days, weeks, months, or years. But as I continue thru my 69th solar orbit and see/experience death "all around me," I am consoled by the fact that our faith teaches us that life is not ended, only changed. The challenge is to be ready...not by dwelling upon or wallowing in those end time but living lives that Jesus will honor when he says, "Good and faithful servant." I experience this almost weekly when someone is missing from the Brookdale service. Life is good...Life is God! Thanks for the insight, John!
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