Being Mortal
Mortality is a scary subject. Having been consumed in a busy life, many are forced to ignore it till it hits you. Some choose to avoid speaking about it deliberately or just don’t like raising the topic.
In Being Mortal, the author discusses the topic in detail and argues that the fundamental priority should not be to just live longer. The fundamental purpose is bigger than that.
There are two schools of thought on how one approaches it. One, make your life more meaningful even if it means you sustain lesser time. Live life to the fullest and face the eventuality head on. Two, sustain longer, be there for your close ones and your dependents and in return, increase your personal suffering.
The author subscribes to the first school of thought and tells you why that makes sense.
Medical science has time and again broken barriers on how to deal with the limitations of the human body. It has given us immense power in choosing how to go about facing certain mortality. It is pushing limits every day and there is no doubt that power is better today than yesterday. But we forget that the power is ultimately finite and the author goes on to say that it will always be limited.
What is the role of a doctor? Is it to enable health and survival or is it to enable well-being? It should be more the latter and less the former. The central idea is to offer comfort, acknowledge what is happening and not just save the lives. The difference between the two functions is important to identify because this becomes more evident and necessary to know as one ages. As we get older, we become more self-aware of our vulnerabilities. We seek purpose, togetherness and realization. Or in one word, happiness.
Should the focus then be on battling life or on appreciating life for what it is? It should be left to personal choice. When the choice made is uninformed, the treatment should not be insisted and it is necessary to be educated on all the possibilities. It should be based on what are the things they want to be left with, the things that really matter.
My major takeaways from this book are these:
- It will teach you empathy to the elderly.
- This will initiate a thought in you to deeply think about what truly matters to you in the end.
Some of my favourite quotes:
‘ Living is a kind of skill. The calm and wisdom of old age are achieved over time. ‘
‘ As our time winds down, we all seek comfort in simple pleasures — companionship, everyday routines, the taste of good food, the warmth of sunlight on our faces. We become less interested in the rewards of achieving and accumulating, and more interested in the rewards of simply being. Yet while we may feel less ambitious, we also become concerned for our legacy. And we have a deep need to identify purposes outside ourselves that make living feel meaningful and worthwhile. ‘
Originally published at http://mumblingmadrasi.wordpress.com on March 31, 2019.
