I used to be afraid of dying, when I was younger. Now I'm 62, and while
I am not anxious or looking forward to death, I am no longer afraid of
dying. Death is part of life, the renewal of all things. There are
worse things than dying, one of them is continuing to suffer from a
terrible and painful condition and extreme medical treatment, which
happened to both of my parents. During one of the last visits I had
with my father, who was dying of lung cancer complicated by
incompetent/careless medical treatment, he said, "Bobby Max, would you
get one of my guns and just shoot me?" He then laughed and said
something like "well i know you can't do that but it would sure be a
blessing if you could." He was tired of suffering and knew his time was
near its end, and he was ready. I hope I have his calmness in the face
of that inevitable.
In the meantime, I shudder to think of the impact of actual working life
extension drugs. They will be horrendously expensive, and so likely will
be used to extend the lives of some of the most evil people on the
planet, who will of course continue to commit their evil for even more
years. The nice thing about death is that it is the ultimate
equalizer. Rich or poor, we never get out of life alive.
The permaculture relevance is that death is part of the cycle of natural
succession for humans as well as the rest of the living ecosystem.
Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City
http://www.ipermie.net Permaculture your urban lifestyle & protect yourself from the four horsemen of the modern apocalypse: peak oil, climate instability, economic irrationality, and political criminality
On 1/7/2014 1:56 PM, Toby Hemenway wrote:
On Jan 7, 2014, at 10:48 AM, John D'hondt wrote:
I think there is a reason why 3 score years and ten (or a bit longer) mayIt's a bit OT, but I remember reading that a study showed that the typical 20-year-old wants to live forever, 40-year-olds want to live to be 200, 60-year-olds want to live to be 100, and 80-year-olds want another decade or so if they are in good health. It all works out. Because, like they say, getting old isn't for sissies.
not be such a bad thing.
Toby
http://patternliteracy.com
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Permaculture: -- portal to an expanding global network of landtech pioneers -- who are designing ecological land use systems with integrated elements for synergy, sustainability, regeneration and enhanced nature-compatible human habitat
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