“I didn’t see you all of Ramadan.”
(bro handshake)
“Good to see you man.”
“Yeah they were away1.”
“Were you fasting?”
“Yes. Were you?”
“No but I was thinking about it.”
Then he gave my dad a grin.
My parents have started telling me something odd.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s kinda tongue-in-cheek, said with a laugh. And it basically means acknowledging your mortality, and the shortness of life.
All sorts of things can prompt it… A reality check from a sudden illness, in you or someone else. Or some gained perspective, from desperation, exasperation, or—
Seriously, I am going to die, at some point in my life, for sure, just like the tadi web.
Dying isn’t bad. It’s just what things do. It means time has passed and things have changed. People do it. Animals do it. Plants do it. Objects do it.
My clothes do it. My shoes have holes in them! It’s more expensive and tricky for me to fix them, so I’m going to let them die. Their skin and bones will be recycled into something else.
And some of my clothes don’t fit me anymore. I had to give away all of my jeans and trousers. And most of my tops became too tight. So I gave them to a charity shop, and for me — they died.
There is no need to be afraid of death, but you can be if you want. Either way it is coming for us all.
Some people fear it so much that they try to become vampires. They can try if they want. But they will die, like everything else. Time is a line, not a circle.
It encourages fearlessness. We are going to die. We may as well try our best. We may as well be ourselves. We may as well not be intimidated by arseholes. We may as well do what we want. We may as well have fun and laugh. I mean, this is obvious right? This should be obvious.
It’s easier said than done, maybe. So remind yourself, every time you feel fear:
If there is something you want to do— something you’ve been wondering about, that feels right, but you’re not sure— you’re not sure if you have the guts, or if you’re brave enough— or if you can handle it—
Back to wikiblogarden.