Remembering fragility
Yesterday at work (I do house inspections), a woman told me that a few months ago she woke up to a loud noise coming from the stairwell. There she found her husband — dead at the age of 69.
Later that same day, I listened to a podcast interview with Tomas von Brömssen, the Swedish actor. They were talking about death, and he mentioned the moment when comedian Tommy Cooper died during a live TV show — at 63.
Tragic events, and something that’s obviously hard to go through for anyone who loses someone close — at any age. But death is the contract we sign when we’re born. You can’t have one without the other.
I don’t say this in a hopeless, despairing, why bother, everything is meaningless kind of way. On the contrary…
By knowing and remembering the fragility of nature, we become more open to the beauty of life. We move from the mundane to the magical.
We are alive, and that’s pretty amazing.
Kobayashi Issa says it all in a haiku:
This dewdrop world —
Is a dewdrop world,
And yet, and yet...