Well let’s hope that this week is better than last week regarding the death of some of America’s most prominent personalities. It’s amazing that even when someone is ill; their death is a surprise. It’s not about denial but the hope that we can actually revel in the possibility of being wrong.
They say that tragedy occurs in threes so last week we had the death of Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. The first two the public knew that death wasn’t too far based on news stories. Obviously for the world, the death of Michael Jackson came as a complete surprise, except to him (according to blog posts by Lisa Marie Presley).
What can we understand when an 80 year old, 60 year old, and 50 year old die? We learn that none of us were guaranteed a certain number of years to live. We are shown that the rich and famous all have to die just like the rest of us. We become curious about not only the cause of death, but how we as humans understand what death entails and how we hope we would respond if in the same situation.
The stories of the three celebrities demonstrates both the journey of the long struggle and the instantaneous nature of death. Depending on your age you may become scared because if it could happen to a 50 year old and you’re approaching the big “5” “0” then you may begin wondering about your own mortality.
When facing a health challenge whether it be chronic or life-threatening we wonder if we can endure all the test that will be presented to us on our journey to wellness. It doesn’t matter what your response as long as you have a response. It’s like opinions, everyone has one. Your reaction means you’re still in the land of the living. It means that you are fortified with the hope that health is still possible. You’re ability to take these deaths as lessons not as forecasting your own future means you get to rewrite your story today!
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 