Of Camels and Life
In my erstwhile home for a short sojourn, I enjoyed getting together with old friends. Recently, one mentioned to another how the previous time they had met was the last time I had visited. It set me thinking. The temporariness of a short visit often helps to make and concentrate interactions. The fact that we cannot see each other whenever we want is what makes the meets even happen.
The chronicles of those given finite times to live, indicate that those last months are often the most productive, enriched and fulfilling period of their entire lives. So, what if we envision our lives in short chunks? We could probably get a lot more done and derive much more satisfaction. What if we lived each day as though it might be one of our last?
Camels drink more than they need and can harness the excess, as needed, in dry spells. I have started thinking of life too in that framework — pack it with as many happy and satisfying experiences and, hopefully, use these as a memory bank to keep final days happy.
Even as I have been having rewarding face-to-face chats with good friends, I have also been hearing of elderly family members making significant changes in their lives to accommodate deteriorations in health. As Atul Gawande explains in his seminal book ‘Being Mortal’, decline rarely creeps up gradually — there are usually significant sickness events — tipping points, so to speak (to quote Malcolm Gladwell), that force about-faces in lifestyles, when one least expects it.
With ever increasing life spans (which is worthless without quality of life), the fact is that many of us will lose some physical mobility towards our ends. Nostalgia being a very pleasant exercise, the memory bank filled with notable vignettes could, perhaps, make those final days more tolerable.
Happy people who later suffer from severe dementia, despite no cognisance of who they are/were, often retain their innate cheer. So, again, hopefully, filling one’s own life with joyful experiences might at least help us appear happy which would, in turn, help those who help us do so cheerfully? For even a mere smile can lighten another’s burden.
