Fragile

Sometimes my YouTube feed takes me to a channel where the person has suddenly been diagnosed with an illness. I recently watched one where the spouse of a 35 year old man explained how it all began with a horrific jaw tumor which led to succumbing to a spreading cancer; her tearful goodbye was incredibly impactful. His previous videos had shown an energetic and hope filled person and progressively the content became more dire once they had been diagnosed with their illness culminating in one where he stated the decision to stop treatment because it was causing too much pain.

By any measure life is hard and when it is not sufficiently so for some they will find ways to sabotage their own. I have lived long enough to know that it can appear to be completely so random in the way it administers the fate of some individuals.

At this junction in my life I have a very sober vision about and how it should be lived and simplicity more than ever appeals to me. We take in each day with an attitude that tomorrow is never guaranteed and we do our best to improve the lives of others in whatever ways we can. There is something very soothing to me about the sobriety that suffering may be just around the corner for us and we need to be braced for its possibility.

A life without any hardship does not build the necessary fortitude to handle what comes our way and those who have faced great struggles often appear to be endowed with a wonderful and serene gravitas regarding our fragility as humans.

It is wonderful maturity which installs itself in them where the sense of humor is never entirely lost because they have seen enough pain to know not to wallow in it.