It is as natural to die as to be born. – Francis Bacon
At their age, they probably remind each-other of their love every day, not knowing when their last chance might be. Why wait until you’re old? Who knows when your time might come, so it might be better to be safe, rather than sorry.
What does that mean?
While some lament death as the end, others welcome it as a new beginning. I’m not sure what it actually is, but I believe it is, as the quote says, as natural as being born.
A similar saying is that every beginning has an end, and this holds true with life itself. Put another way, if it wasn’t for death, the world would be very, very full. And not just with humans, but everything else that ever lived as well.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not that interested in meeting all my ancestors. Even less fun to meet would be a Sabre Tooth Tiger or even a T-Rex. And don’t get me started on insects. How many zillions of them would be around?
That was my explanation of death to my children when they were little and one of the fish died. It makes sense, and it is part of the circle of life. It is nature at it’s finest, recycling the best ingredients for the next turn of the cycle.
Why is understanding our mortality important?
Admit it, when you were young, you thought you’d never die. At least most of the time, right? You might scare yourself every once in a while, but death was something for old people, not you, right?
While that may be more solidly ensconced in the male mindset, I have know a number of young women who were equally certain that they had at least 50 more years before anything bad would start to happen. But it isn’t always the case, is it?
While it’s easy to speak of the tragedy of a life cut short, who really knows how long we have? If we keep acting like we have forever, but actually don’t, how much will we put off, then never get to start?
To me, that is what is important in this quote, to have at least a little urgency about our lives. You never know what or when, and none of us have a guarantee for tomorrow. When we understand that, hopefully we can start to prioritize and start to get the important things done.
Where can I apply this in my life?
We all put things off. They might be too big, too cumbersome, or simply not a lot of fun. So we say we’ll do them later. Tomorrow. But for some of us, tomorrow won’t come. We will have completed the cycle before then. So what are we to do?
I try to check in at least once a month, and determine what are the big things I want to accomplish, or on which I will try to make some progress. Quite often, even that isn’t enough, as I often allow myself to be interrupted, and spoil my schedule.
Do you look to the future and plan the big things more than at New Year’s Eve? That seems to be the time when the promises and platitudes come out, as people pledge to do the things they know they most likely won’t do.
But how would things be different if you didn’t assume you’d get at least another dozen or so New Year’s to make empty promises? And what if you set yourself a shorter horizon, and examined your list twice a year? How much different would things be if you did it twelve times a year?
I still manage to not get as much done as I would like, but I have found that it does tend to work better when I check my progress and plan to take smaller steps. That allows me to better see progress and help keep my momentum going.
We can all find ways to develop a little urgency. How would you spend the next weekend if you knew it was going to be your last? Would you spend it on the couch watching TV, or would you go out and do something special for yourself or others?
The question then becomes “Why do you have to be dying to have a great time and do the things you really want to get done?” I don’t know about you, but it sounds kind of silly to me. Who would want to wait until it’s almost too late, and then try to fit it all in?
And that presupposes that you’ll have a whole week’s warning. This past weekend, a teenage girl completed her cycle in a car wreck. No warning, no preparation. She was going too fast and lost control of the car and then lost her life. It really can be that quick.
What do you want to accomplish before you complete the cycle of nature? When do you plan to start on it? How many more times will you put it off? Is there someone you need to talk to, to tell them something special? Is there someplace you really want to see or visit?
There is no time like the present, and no one is guaranteed a tomorrow. As we are born, so we also die. Between those two events, it’s up to us to make our mark. It is our time to enjoy what we can, and to help those we can, in the time we have.
I’m hoping I don’t have too many regrets. How about you? Do you have a plan?
From: Twitter, @juanlujanm
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/francisbac149831.html
Photo by bravenewtraveler
Happy Birthday to Francis Bacon, born 22 January 1561.
