Tony At 10: LIFE AND DEATH; BLOG # 2243; FRI JUL 03, 2020

THE COMEBACK:

LADY ASTOR FIRST BRITISH
FEMALE MP

“Sir you are

disgustingly drunk!”

"My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly."

THE MESSAGE:

Surely there can be no more preferred way to leave this world than to die in the arms of your deepest love. To experience the loss of a loved one unexpectedly is a deep slash to the heart. It matters not that you have mutual agreements, plans and expectations for saying goodbye to a life-long partner. For me, the deep sense of unexpected loss does not arise because of a fear of death or dying. Rather it is felt through a true feeling of loneliness and helplessness. These feelings are exaggerated when deprived of the opportunity to hold on both literally and figuratively. My wife was fortunate in that she took her last breath in the presence of her children and other loved ones. Later I was left alone to hold her in my arms and say a final goodbye.

To loose a child, who has not yet reached the formative years, is tragic and difficult to accept. To loose a child, who has yet to live life as a wise and introspective human being, is beyond our ability to comprehend. I can only imagine the feelings that a parent experiences when a child’s life is terminated by some depraved molester or murderer. It hurts enough to lose a beautiful child because of an unexpected illness. A lost child is a story that has no end. A terminal illness is a decided evil and throughout our lifetime, mankind has been forced to deal with various conditions and realities. The struggles continue and we are exposed to real dangers through weakness, ignorance, pandemics, evil perpetrators and selfish distractions.

The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They compel us to learn that which it is beneficial for us to know; but which we try to ignore. We really have no claim on a long life; we are liable to die at any moment. The main point is not how long we live, but with what realities we fill the time span we are given.

TONY TODAY:

;

Felix Adler, (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933)[2] was a German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, influential lecturer on euthanasia, religious leader and social reformer.

Adler writes in his works on Life and Destiny; "let us learn from the lips of death the lessons of life. Let us live truly while we live, live for what is true and good and lasting. And let the memory of our dead help us to do this.”

He believed that the dead are not wholly separated from us, if we remain loyal to them. They are with us in spirit and we can think of them as silent and invisible presences in our lives.

I am convinced that there is a 'Soul Heaven’ wherein lie all of the good souls from earth. A good soul leaves behind at least one other soul who truly loves the deceased. I do not believe in a retributive ‘God’. Bad souls from earth simply disappear down a black hole, as they are never cherished by a loved one left behind.

Almost all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure or harm to our reputation, disappear in the face of death; therefore, we are left with only that which is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma or the results of other people's thinking or the ‘probables’ of science. Most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Follow the mantra of ‘do no harm’!

THE MUSIC:

CHER, ‘IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME'