Having assumed a horizontal posture on my bed of death, I feel very comfortable that the moment of my terrestrial demise is imminent and that the end of my life has arrived.
This comfort springs from the knowledge that I have lived my life, and in the process of so doing have justified my existence. Life as has been said is to be lived and it is an art to live it well: and when that art has passed or is passing you by, then the time has come to graciously and joyously accept the passing of that life.
And one acquires that art not by the doing of great and momentous things but by the sublime expression of your ineffable humanity. And this humanity encompasses the virtues of Love, Compassion, Fairness, and Empathy. And this sublime expression is another term for doing, and its focus is on persons other than yourself.
By whatever the yardstick, I have lived my life: and now that I am by passing the acquisitive phase of that life, and of which I am very cognisant of, I very rationally can now accept and even embrace the end of this life.
Like all mortals I am flawed, but in the general scheme of things and events, I believe that the positives are greater than the negatives. That provides me with the existential solace / comfort that I need as I contemplate the ebbing away of my life.
As I have indicated I have justified my existence and that yardsticks I have used are (1) I have made my parents proud before their passing; (2) I have so positioned my children in such a way and on such a level that they can now deal with the exigencies of their lives and their world; and (3) I am satisfied with the impact that I have had on the generalised other. Regardless how minuscule their world, my world is now a better place because I lived. Somebody somewhere will remember me with a smile: somebody somewhere will remember me with laughter.
At this point in time the contemplation of death is not morbid nor the reality of my death a tragedy. I am at peace with myself and the world I will leave behind will be a better place because I have impacted upon and on the associates who provided me with the opportunity for the demonstration of Love, Compassion Fairness and Justice in the various and varied spheres of our lives.
What is there beyond my life I do not know. As far as “religion” writ large is concerned, I am in a state of enlightened scepticism. But logically and rationally I hold on to the opinion that Homo sapiens as a project is not an exercise in futility. Man is a purpose and has a purpose that in some measure reflects an intelligence that transcends human comprehension and insights.
My level of rationality holds me to the belief that we are not alone in the universe and that there are other dimensions of life that co-exist with ours beyond the stars and the galaxies. The virtues of Love, Compassion, Empathy and Fairness are not the product of an arid biosphere or stratosphere but has to be inextricably linked, existentially, metaphysically and ontologically with “being” and “becoming”. Homo sapiens fall into the latter category and aspire to the former; hence, the phenomenon of death as the gate-way to the former.
I therefore joyously embrace my death with its eternal salubrious possibilities and to be at one with the quintessence of Creation which as I see it is predicated on a magnificent, celestial Benevolence.
VLJ.