Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Everyone's Ephemeral

Why everything's no big dealWhat if I told you the actual percentage of people who will die at some point is 100%?

I suppose that comes as no surprise, but according to this table there about 80 ways to check out. This table seems to imply no one dies from getting old. Great news for those who don't want to die from old age, eh?

With that said, why do some people act like they are special and death will never happen to them? That they are immune in some way. Do they not realize that nearly 8 in 10 people will not make it to 65 and beyond?

Would it not be better to live their lives as if this day could be their last?

If society would adapt this attitude it would go a long way in ending greed, indifference to others and all the other things that short sightedness implies.

There was never a building built. A fortune made. A business established. A government formed. A people conquered in battle nor a human that has not perished.

I think a lot of people need to recognize that today is tomorrows yesterdays.And we all know how much we care about them!

2 comments:

  1. Well, it's pretty much impossible for humans to behave as though they have a 100% chance of dying. At least, that's what I think. It's a survival mechanism of our brain.

    But imagine if there were no buildings built or businesses established or governments formed - that would be awful, on the whole. Perhaps we pursue these endeavors to make sure we leave something behind after we die. And if I lived each day like it was my last, how would I possibly save enough money to send my kids to college??

    The human condition is seriously flawed - but be thankful that you've lived long enough to learn the truth about life: everything is temporary and nothing lasts forever. Not even hockey arena debt. Well...maybe hockey arena debt CAN last forever, but everything else...temporary.

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    Replies
    1. "And if I lived each day like it was my last, how would I possibly save enough money to send my kids to college??"

      Perhaps you might have misunderstood my line of reasoning.

      For example take my own case. I bought a less expensive home being aware of life's possibilities I doubled and tripled my mortgage payments. This was because the wife wouldn't have been able to afford the payments alone on her salary if something were to happen to me or my job.

      What I'm trying to say is knowing that there are longevity factors involved, it doesn't mean we shouldn't plan for the future. To my way of thinking we'd still pursue our long term goals, but factor in the contingencies and therefore plan more wisely accordingly.

      I don't want to give the impression that by "living like it was my last" that anyone should party like it's 1999. :-)

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      "everything is temporary and nothing lasts forever. Not even hockey arena debt. Well...maybe hockey arena debt CAN last forever,"

      At my age it is "forever". Realistically I doubt whether I'll be around in another 30 years to see if it ever gets paid off. Same goes for more then a few of us.

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