The reality of mortality
Life is a privilege, especially for those of us born and living in a relatively
wealthy and democratic country like Australia. It is to be valued, cherished
and enjoyed, even though it inevitably has challenges and disappointments. I
like that old saying; ‘You wouldn’t be dead for quids!’ But life is finite; it has a
beginning and an ending. This applies to all living things, animals and plants.
Humans are no exception; we are no exception.
The birth of a new child is a miracle; a cherished gift. This wonderful new human
being has come into the world with so much potential. We celebrate the
arrival; we’re excited; we’re optimistic; we’re full of hope that he or she will
have a long, happy and fulfilling life. But, whatever our hopes may be, there
is only one certainty; one day that life will come to an end.
For my part, and I write this at the age of 88, I recognize the fact that we are
only visitors on this planet, and short-term visitors at that. I admit that the
thought that, one day, I won’t be here is a bit disappointing. Being an inquisitive
type, I like to know what is happening in the world, in our community and
especially, in our family. I enjoy life and don’t like the thought that it will end,
but the reality is that it will. It has happened to every one of my ancestors; my
2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents
and so on; there would be millions, and they have all died. Why should I be
an exception?
Lord John Maynard Keynes, the famous British economist, the founder of
Keynesian economics (pump priming), when many of his colleagues were
criticizing his theories for being useful in the short term only, countered by
saying “In the long run we are all dead.” So true. The long term is made up of
many short terms. Life is full of many short-term objectives; picking the right
career, paying off the mortgage, buying the new car. Keynes was spot on.
Let’s look at the logic. Imagine, if people lived forever, where would all the
new people live? There wouldn’t be enough room on the planet. We wouldn’t
have the joy of welcoming new babies or the hope that comes with them. We
wouldn’t have new ideas, new approaches and new solutions. We’d have little
progress or excitement in a world populated only by old people. We need
renewal and regeneration. We need turnover of population; birth, life, death;
the cycle goes on which means death is an essential part of life. Death in old
age is natural. Premature death, especially of children, is tragic. Everyone
deserves a full life.
Advances in medical science mean that we can sometimes delay death for a
while or ease the process but we cannot avoid the final result. Life expectancy
has increased significantly in recent years and improvements in the provision
of palliative care are very welcome, but we all know that, eventually, the
time will come when our life on this planet will cease. We know in our minds
that this will happen but we shouldn’t dwell on it. When we are young the
thought of death scares most of us; it did for me anyway. As we get older we
St Margaret’s News 8 August 2020