Mortalis*

"The curse of mortality. You spend the first portion of your life learning, growing stronger, more capable. And then, through no fault of your own, your body begins to fail. You regress. Beauty withers. Organs fail. As your wisdom and experience are peaking, your traitorous body becomes a prison." Brandon Mull, author of Fablehaven


Emma Morano of Verbania, Italy, witnessed a lot of change in her 117 years of life. She arrived along with the new century, lived through two world wars, watched a world quickly changing thanks to industry and technology. According to The New York Times, Emma Morano was the oldest documented person on Earth at 117 years, 137 days, and a few hours. She was also the last person documented to have been born in the 1800s. The Times described her as a devout Catholic who was married once and only briefly because she "didn't want to be dominated by anyone." Her diet included three raw eggs each day. Being well-groomed was important as was the anti-aging skin cream found in her nightstand drawer, the Times reported. Emma Morano died April 15, 2017.

We're often reminded that only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. Taxes are fairly predictable. Death is a  sometimes unpredictable, always inescapable conclusion. Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, summed it up this way: "On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." 

If you're struggling with the death of loved ones or your own mortality, you aren't alone. At times it can seem that grief has moved in and now has a permanent seat at the table.

Rumi, a Persian poet (1207-1273), wrote that being human is to have unwelcome guests of grief, anger, fear, etc... His poem, "The Guest House," is often used in mindfulness classes and retreats:
"This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor."

The unexpected visitors can be difficult subjects. There are  books to enlighten, accompany, and comfort us.

Every Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
End of Your Life Book Club - Will Schwalbe
Being Mortal - Atul Gawande
On Living - Kerry Egan
Bettyville - George Hodgman
Enjoy Every Sandwich - Lee Lipsenthal
A Widow's Story - Joyce Carol Oates
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
The Theft of Memory - Jonathan Kozol
The Year of Magical Thinking &
Blue Nights - Joan Didion
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - Roz Chast
The Bright Hour - Nina Riggs
The Middle Place - Kelly Corrigan
Stitches - Anne Lamott
The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story - Edwidge Danticat


"Songs to aging children come,
Aging children, I am one.

People hurry by so quickly
Don't they hear the melodies
In the chiming and the clicking
And the laughing harmonies?

Songs to aging children come,
Aging children, I am one."  Joni Mitchell, 1967 


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* Mortalis - (Latin, 1520s) noun. A mortal, human being. American Heritage Dictionary


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