tiny reminder

Hi folks. I want to remind you that this blog is my way of putting my ideas about life and death, specifically, how to die well, out there.

I spend a good deal of time reading and thinking. I read financial blogs, I read memoir and biography. I spend at least 30 minutes each day meditating as a way to make space in my cluttered head, so that insights can emerge.

I'm not an expert on anything. Actually, if I'm an expert on anything it's how to make mistakes.

This morning I came across this blog. The guy kinda bugs me. Reading that he and his wife Betty enjoy simple meals, simple pleasure, and simple living with their million dollar nest egg is just so blah. Technically I'm not a proponent of simple anything. I think that we should live dynamic lives that are filled with texture. I like that Bob has (or had) a plan for retirement and he and Betty seem to be happily heading to their graves. Perhaps we can expect a simple service when the time comes. Take a look.

And one of the things I wanted to get into yesterday that I didn't get to was this: my 22 year old nephew died of a drug overdose last week. I'm not campaigning for any sympathy for him. He dropped out of high school, sold and used drugs. He thought he was a tough guy. And perhaps he was tough. My heart goes out to his mother, because she is in a lot of pain. He was her first born and the apple of her eye.

And then I read the news about the guy who walked into LAX; shot a few people and killed one of them.

The thing of it: none of us knows when we are going to go. Yeah, if you're putting yourself in the line of danger you've possibly increased your chances of an early, ugly exit. But for the rest of us who are trying to enjoy ourselves and live the good life, we live in a world filled with crazy people and unpredictable events. Hit a patch of black ice, late at night, go careening off the edge of the road and smash into a tree. Game over. (I know a guy who did just that. He was gone at age 35. Technically none of this was his fault. He left behind a wife and child.)

The reason to aim for a good death is this: if you've lived as wholly and completely, as authentically as you can, when you go, we'll all miss you but we'll look back and think about what a grand time you had while you were alive. Maybe you'll have done something that inspired us.

Planning for the future is wise, just don't do it at the expense of being here today. If you've got dreams, pursue them. If you love someone, really love them. Be smart and have fun. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't live the life you want.