I wrote this to a far-away acquaintance of mine who's been struggling with her fears since coming abruptly face to face with her mortality during a recent acute illness.
Sending you hugs; I'm reading this rather late. I will try to say something that has not already been said. The recognition of the impermanence of life and the recognition of the inevitability of death are necessary foundations for truly beginning to live. We can't understand the preciousness of every moment of life until we realize how very scarce those moments are. Knowing you will die, you can begin to abstain from fear of death. Suppose something might kill you; so what? You'll be dead in the long run anyway. Death cannot harm you. What matters is not whether you die but how you live. Don't waste your life by living it in fear. You may not get another one. Many people know they will die but still have faith that all will be well. They are not foolish; they just have a definition of all being well that is bigger than their own individual lives, that can continue after their death. Some of them are religious, and some of them answer to some other cause. This is what gives warriors the strength to fight to the death: their allegiance to a higher cause than their own survival. It is wonderful to be alive and healthy. Be glad in each day that you still live, and do not let that precious life go lightly. Do not forget to honor your wild nature, and seize each day in your teeth, letting its sweet nectar run down your chin. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/> Happiness is within your grasp in each day you still live. I don't know you well enough to love you as so many other commenters here do. I hope to get the chance to know you some day, because I've been impressed with what I know of you so far. -- To unsubscribe: http://lists.canonical.org/mailman/listinfo/kragen-tol
