Death is the one event in #life that we all can be sure to experience. Yet we don't tend to think, talk, and be relaxed about it. I don't know what happens after we #die and I don't care either. Once I experience #death, I will know, so you need to wait for my post mortem blog post, from the great beyond, if there is any. I love life, and getting comfortable with the idea of dying has made my life more exciting.
This virus has brought death closer to our hearts; it's present at the edge of our minds. So we are challenged, fears come up. At the beginning of the lockdown, my husband and I had each our processes in dealing with the fact that death could be closer than we thought before. We cried. We imagined having our daughter living without us (we assumed she couldn't die now, that's another level altogether). We made a will and assigned a guardian. Here is the company we used:Guardian Angel. We took safety and distance measure seriously; my husband wrote me a list of passwords (the geek) for his computers and I told our daughter that if we die she is not alone and she will be fine. I yet have to write a letter to her. That is the tough part. Tears have to run dry before, so I can physically see the screen. Now I understand my mum when she cries whenever we Skype. I should tell my #mum, #dad, and #family members that I #love them more often than now. We also #laugh, #hug, #talk to each other more than ever. We eat ice cream, look at the blue sky, and feel blessed to have a garden and all the privileges that the (lowe) middle class has in British society. We are ok. We also feel deep sadness for those who lost family members and feel anger towards leaders that fail to rise to the occasion. But we are ok.
I have witnessed four different deaths within my family so far, and have learnt three things: that we die how we live, that with each breath we live and die a bit, and we are born and die alone. Life and death are not separate. The more comfortable we are with the fact that death is a certainty even if we don't know when the final breath is going to happen, and we are not in control of it, the more alive we become.
So if you feel powerless in the face of death, there are things you can do. You can do a will. Your family may be grateful, or not. Tell and show the loved ones how you #feel. Life is to short for postponement. Write letters, call, hug if you can. Cry and laugh wholeheartedly. Live #intensely. Clean those dishes like there is no tomorrow. And remember when all this is over (the lockdown) death is here to stay. It has always been. It's a part of being #alive.
Love, Nora