“Never shirk the proper dispatch of your duty, no matter if you are freezing or hot, groggy or well-rested, vilified or praised, not even if dying or pressed by other demands. Even dying is one of the important assignments of life and, in this as in all else, make the most of your resources to do well the duty at hand.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
When you were young
And your heart was an open book
You used to say, “Live and let live”
(You know you did
You know you did
You know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we’re livin’
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die) -song, “Live And Let Die” by Wings
Do the right thing, do the right thing (do the right thing)
Do it all the time, do it all the time (do it all the time)
Make yourself right, never mind them (do it all the time)
Don’t you know you’re not the only one suffering
I hear a higher calling
Better here than there I guess
So long, so long -song, “Diversionary (Do The Right Thing) by Ages and Ages
“I could just remember how my father used to say that the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time.” -William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying
My dad passed away about two years ago and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. In addition to being my dad, he was my hero and my best friend.
For all the many lessons he taught me about how to live, perhaps the greatest lesson he ever taught me was how to die.
That no matter what, right up until the very end, you still have a choice. You can still do your duty. You can still maintain your dignity. You can still be good to others. You can still do the right thing.
My dad suffered tremendously for a very long time because of skin cancer. His last few years were especially rough as he was in constant pain. Nevertheless, he treated every doctor, nurse and caregiver with absolute grace and kindness. He took an interest in them, cracked jokes, gave out golf tips, exchanged recipes and always thanked them. (Even when they had to change his head dressing for a large open wound which caused him extreme agony.) I’ll never forget one caregiver who was also a Nun, stopped me outside as I was visiting him…She grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “You do know your father is a saint, right?”
Yes he was.
I miss you a ton dad. But I’m so grateful for all our time together.
Thank you for teaching me how to live.
And teaching me how to die.
You were the greatest of the greatest. Love you big guy.
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