Death

I really thought that it was over for Lucille when I spent the gas I needed to get out away from this hurricane returning to make sure my child was safe, he was supposed to (and eventually did) leave with his gf's family but they tarried and I got worried. So, of course I have had various philosophical thoughts this last few days.

There is a phrase I have heard "Pray to God but keep on rowing to shore", which stands for the concept that God hears us but expects us to do our part achieving our goals.

But I have also heard the phrase 'When your number is called, your time is up", standing for the concept that your moment of death is predestined and it does not matter what you do to either bring it on or avoid it.

This subject rarely occupies me as I have too many other thoughts that need thinking, but what do y'all think?

Heck, the same thoughts have been occupying my thoughts for quite a while now. Recently have had some friends die, have surgery, get divorced, or just runs of real bad luck. When you get to the age where you realize that your number is possibly getting close to being called, it makes you take stock of the situation and begin thinking about what you want to do today when tomorrow just might not be there for you. In many cases, there will be no warning at all when your world turns upside down and you fall off.

Anyway, glad you got through the hurricane OK.

Whether death is predetermined or kismet is irrelevant. In either scenario, you have no definite knowledge of when it's coming until it arrives.

Every day is a gift. Every day that we choose to spend worrying, or bitching, or whining, or in any other way except finding and giving happiness is a day wasted in my book.

FINALLY someone talking about zentime.

Live in the now.

It's not as easy as it sounds until you do it.

Originally Posted by Wilomn

Live in the now.

I agree with WebSlave when he said there are no warnings of when your life turns upside down or when your number is gonna be dialed. All I think we need to do is what Wes said in the phrase above - "Live in the Now" Live your life doing what makes you happy - being with family, friends, anything. This way, in the end, you won't regret anything and you can say that you were happy and be OK with whatever comes up next... good or bad.

Try being told that you have less than 18 hours to live. Accept that it is time and that all the unhappiness and pain will go away. Feel for all the people who will miss you when you are gone.

Then wake up the next morning and be told you just might have a chance.

Waking up the next morning was a disappointment at that point. I have done "life", nigh onto death.

10 years later I sit here typing a response to Lucilles post.

Each day IS a gift, each experience precious, each person you touch or who touches you is important and should be treasured.

No, we don't know when we are going to go, but that doesn't mean life shouldn't be embraced and felt to the very depths of our beings.

We all live on "borrowed time", make the time worthwhile.

Don't worry, be happy.

Brush and floss after every meal, the best teeth are your own.

Love somebody.

Love somebody else, too.

(Send me pictures.)

And remember, we really don't know where exactly we go when we die, but maybe if you have the right attitude it'll be an even better place than here.

I don't know why this is relevant, but I thought I would share...

When I was going to college, the college I went to was famous for turning out nearly as many MRS degrees as any other. More than half of the girls at the university were there to get married. A lot of my roommates would share their own fears of not finding the "right one" or of ruined relationships and I was this real big philosopher. I basically said that I could care less about the guy to girl ratios (more girls than guys) because it didn't matter if there were 100 girls for every one guy, if that guy was the right one for me. Another of my pithy thoughts from that time was how, in a moment your life changes. One moment you will be living having not met that "Mr. Right" and the next moment, you will have met him. I would just encourage most of these younger girls to focus on the fact that they would have to just wait for that moment and know that it could arrive at any time.

Of course I didn't find or meet Mr. Right in college. Took me almost 2 years after college before I met him.

When I think about death and about the unpredictability of this life, I just focus on the things I have control over.. my attitude and my actions. I work to make those as good as possible and I don't worry about the rest of the things I can't control.

The other day my husband was at the high school football game. He runs the time clock as one of his extra-curricular paid duties. At the end of the game the Athletic Director had his wife go home before he did, and he stuck around to wrap things up, pay the referees, and wait until everyone was gone before he himself headed home. He and my husband were two of the last people there, and they both left at the same time. Hubby took one road, the AD took the other road. Hubby made it home safe. The AD didn't. He was driving along the rural roads and someone's horse paddock was left unsecured... the horse wandered onto the unlit road, and the AD's truck hit it broadside. The horse took out his windshield and ended up IN the cab of the pickup. Luckily our school will continue to be blessed with this man's presence... one his jaw gets unwired and the reconstructive surgery to put his face back together again is completed. He broke every bone in his face and was knocked cold. A good samaritan saw the wrecked pickup, dead horse in the cab, and called for the emergency services. He didn't stick around to help our AD.

Things like this remind you of how precious and unpredictable life is. I just try to enjoy the moment, make all the difference I can in my own way, and know, if my time is up, that I LIVED my life.