Forwarded: When This Number Hits 5200 - You Will be Dead
Our time on this earth is bounded.
Our time spent with others is limited.
Our time with our loved ones is limited still.
The ongoing pandemic only exacerbates this sense of physical boundedness of human interactions. The next time we meet a person at a bar/pub/park/library could very well be the last opportunity to interact with them.
This concept of doing something for the last time feels a bit uncomfortable. Probably because there is a subtle subsconsious association with the inability to carry out that activity. This perspective puts two ideas in stark contrast with one another:
- the notion of being young, active, and determined.
- being able to do anything you set your mind to.
This thought leads to the realization that the time we get to spend with our loved ones is extremely precious - given that we are the tail end of our interactions with them. Kurzgesagt does a great job at explaining this idea.
Thus, it’s vitally important to spend quality time with our loved ones - in whatever little we get to see them.
The quality of our interpersonal interactions shifts across a spectrum as we cycle through different phases in our lives. As a child, we did not posses the mental faculty to have difficult conversations with our parents. As a teenager/young adult, the tendencies to withdraw/grow secluded might emerge. And as we start to become responsible adults, we might begin to notice our parents growing older and learn to treat them with the patience and warmth they need.
As long as you live, keep learning how to live. - Seneca