Dear humour:

We are all in this together: we are all aging and we will all die. Everyone knows that, right? Do we all really know that? Or do we pretend we will live forever and death, when it happens to others surprises us, as if it is exceptional and therefore a terrible thing?

It is something else, to come to terms with death and the approach there. Although there is a 100% that your parents will die, there are 10 possibilities of the order it will happen for you, your mother and your father. Out of those 10 possibilities, only in five will you be in the situation of living without your mother, your father or both. Did you think of that?

We don’t know who is next.

And this is the reality of it: who is next? Who reading these very words I am typing here, who is next?

And there is nothing we can do about it all other than increase the statistical chances of living longer by taking care of our health, being mindful so to minimize accidents, not abusing others so to not increase their chances of dying sooner than later (through illness, accidents, bad choices).

There is nothing we can do. Try to relax into this reality.

anita

* Dear Vesper: You are so humble, writing that I am more likely to give helpful advice than you, but I don’t think so. You have much to offer that I am not capable of offering, and you have already, here on this thread and elsewhere, offered it so generously and kindly. Your input is very valuable and may very well be very helpful while mine is not at all, possibly here on this thread!