From the Other Side.

A Good Death

Chances are you have had a few brushes with death.

You may or may not realize how close you came. It may take a while to comprehend what nearly happened.

Some may just shrug it off as a risk in what they do, or where they have been.

Some could care less.

Can you write about it?

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The real thing differs from how you thought it would go.

“…I am dying to write the book How I Survived Metastatic Cancer but that might be premature…”

Besides, it is cliche’. Every survivor has the same urge.

It puts a different spin on many aspects of life, and perception of time.

Everyone thinks they’ll live forever until circumstances conspire to prove them wrong.

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OK: you are going to die.

What then?

That day of certitude is no different from any other day, except the eventual, is closer.

There was always the philosophical question that arose from observing genetic counseling sessions, If I could know the exact time and circumstances of my own demise, would I want to know?

This discussion involved genetic testing for Huntington’s Disease, due to an autosomal dominant allele on the short arm of human chromosome 4.

That means, if you got the bad allele, your future was limited in predictable ways. Not quite Biblical prophesy, but there it is.

Would it be better not to know? Would it be better to live naive, until The Thing kicked in?

This is not solely a contemporary question.

Psalm 90, King James Version: ¹² So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

That means, more pointedly, get your affairs in order while you still have time.

Likewise, if you have ambitions, the time is now.

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