Required Reading: Letter 4: On The Terrors Of Death
“No man can have a peaceful life who thinks too much about lengthening it…”
This will be a deeply personal essay; one in which the thought of it brings back intense memory of an acute and heightened feeling; one not of fear but anxiety.
It happened December 21st 2018; about two years ago on my way from work; about 6:00 PM on the interstate going about 65 mph. Suddenly, a massive jolt from the back; car flipped sideways; riding the concrete median barrier for what seems an eternity; with my mind enveloped by the thought ‘is this how it all ends’— I’m seeing my life flash in miliseconds before me looking forward to sudden and tragic death!
Then, the car stops; it’s all over. I hear voices of people around me; walking slowly to the car to see if anyone within is still alive. I am still hanging sideways; held up by my seatbelt; shouting out that ‘I am fine!’ My helpers get me out through the driver’s window; tried to stand up; dizzy; sit down on the highway; traffic has stopped at least two miles back as ambulance and highway patrol swing hurriedly by to investigate; perhaps take out a corpse; but not today! Ladies and gentlemen, Nature’s Fortune spared me!!
Now, here’s the outcome of that event. I knew instinctively during those split 15 seconds what Nature had forcefully told me to do; which she had for years! And with me stalling! Death stands near by even if we don’t want it! But friends, what does it really matter? The question is, have you done all you have been told to do? Are you stalling with THE COMMAND?
If you had a note from the doctor who gave you a month to live, would you be doing something different? Would you try at least and fail? Would you really care if you didn’t succeed? Would it really matter? Would you miss someone, some place, something? How much time do you really need to do what you have been planning to do? Would 100 years suffice? Do you wish to live forever? How long?
Well, Seneca states it poignantly “No man can have a peaceful life who thinks too much about lengthening it, or believes that living through many consulships is a great blessing.” Hence, he continues “Make life as a whole agreeable to yourself by banishing all worry about it.” Life Begins, Death Follows…Live in the Purpose…Pursue Wisdom; farewell!
Word of the day:
Superfluous (adjective): more than enough; redundant; needless (The Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus 2nd Edition.)
Quotations:
“For it is not boyhood that still stays with us, but something worse, — boyishness.”
“No evil is great which is the last evil of all. Death arrives; it would be a thing to dread, if it could remain with you. But death must either not come at all, or else must come and pass away.”
“Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between the fear of death and the hardship of life; they are unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how to die.”
“No man has ever been so far advanced by Fortune that she did not threaten him as greatly as she had previously indulged him. Do not trust her seeming calm; in a moment the sea is moved to its depths.”
“I declare to you: he is lord of your life that scorns his own.”
“Poverty brought into conformity with the law of nature, is great wealth.” – Epicurus
“Do you know what limits that law of nature ordains for us? Merely to avert hunger, thirst, and cold.”
“He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.”
Questions:
1) Have you had a traumatic; near death experience in your life?
3) What is your plan to counter such an experience?
2) Do you still fear when you think of it?
3) How do you calm the fear?
4) What was the lesson learned?
Activity:
1) Research Life Insurance companies and apply for a death benefit and payment you can reasonably afford. If you already have life insurance, increase the amount by taking money away from superfluous things and comitting to the policy’s premiums.
2) Goes without saying, your whole family should have individual life insurances with respective beneficiaries.
3) Set up a Health Power of Attorney (POA).
4) Set up a simple Will online if your estate is small; get legal help if you have a large estate.
5) Add your spouse/legal partner as joint on your financial accounts. If you don’t have a spouse/partner as of yet, add a trusted friend (i.e family member, non-related trusted individual) as Trusted Contact Person. Or perhaps will your assets to a well chosen charity foundation if you value or hold such beliefs.
