Life's Frailty

When does life start? When does life end? These are cosmic questions and I won't pretend to know the answer. They are questions that we may never understand the true answer to. It is the realm of beliefs and faiths. With so many different beliefs, it is certain that some must be wrong but there is no certainty that any are right.

There is a time to welcome life. There is a time to let life go. Just as it is noble to welcome a newborn, or to save a life, it is noble to accept someone's passing. It does not decrease the value of life. It accepts that a life that has ebbed will end. It celebrates a life that hopefully was well lived, while accepting that it is or will soon be gone. Death is the antithesis of life. No matter how much we resist or deny it, it is inevitable. We enjoy the life we have, and our interactions with others. For there is no other course.

No parent should outlive their kids. Many children have to deal with the passing of their parents, and the passing can never happen too late. We are reminded of the frailty of life daily. We may not want to face it or admit it, but the end is not in our control. I wish my parents would live forever but know they won't. I hope my kids outlive me and do my best to assure it, but know that it is not mine to say. And so I look forward to enjoying as long a life with them as I can.

Now we are faced with the all too sensationalized news of the parents and loved ones at odds over the fate of Terri Schiavo. Is it nobler to insert a feeding tube to keep her from starving to death? Or to let this severely brain damaged woman's body die naturally? She can not do anything to keep herself alive. But the doctors can keep her body alive. They have for over a third of her ... existence. She may have passed away 14 years ago. We can't know. But we know her body is alive. How long should they sustain her? Sometimes it is hard to let go of hope. Sometimes it is hard to let go... Her husband has let go. Her parents haven't. It has become a press and politics circus.

My condolences to all involved. May they find solace.