Living is Dangerous

I recently watched a local TV news item which made me smile. A Parish Council in West Sussex has decided to ban Bouncy Castles on any of its properties as a child was hurt whilst playing on one and the parents are apparently persuing it through the courts. Oh dear! It would seem that "risk assessments" are now more important than allowing kids to be what they are - just kids.
Still, this report has inspired me to take a new look at how dangerous my own life has become.

Here's part of my rather frightening day...

7.30am - Woke up bleary-eyed when the alarm went off, rolled over in bed to switch it off and fell on the floor. First thought: Why not sue the bed-makers as it's too high and definitely presents a hazard ?

8.00am - Made toast and coffee - burnt my fingers taking the bread out of the toaster. Second thought: Why not sue the toaster maker as there was no warning label to say that it would be hot once I switched it on ?

9.00am - Arrived at work and managed to bump into the corner of my desk - ouch! Third thought: Hey, why not sue the desk makers fror designing them with sharp edges!

After this, the rest of my day just went downhill...

Good job Siddhartha Gautama was born over 2000 years ago - these days the CSA would have gone after him for child maintainance!

Ho Hum!

Dignity: Up Close and Personal

Two months ago I posted a message in which I said that my 95 year old dad told me that he was "ready to die". He may have been ready but it seems that the circumstances just weren't right.

However, things have changed - he's now in a residential home being well looked after but surviving on Ensure, ice cream and sips of beer and dying inch-by-inch. I doubt that he will live much longer.

During my time as a hospice nurse in the 1980s/1990s I often heard the phrase "dying with dignity" but (even though I paid lip service to it) I don't think I ever really understood what it meant. The notion of "dignity" suggests the display of honour and decorum in the face of adversity and yet the reality is that the process of dying can be messy and undignified. I suspect that this is how it will be for my dad when the time comes. But does it really matter ? My dad has told us that he has had "a good life" and maybe that's the thing we need to focus on. It's not really about whether or not we face our death with dignity - it's surely about whether we've lived our lives with as much dignity as we could muster.

Jack Savoretti, a young singer/songwriter, sums this up beautifully in one of his haunting songs with these words:

"It's not where you go when you die
It's how you live when you're alive
Who you touch and how you're feeling. "

"And it's not about the time that you have
It's how you cry and how you laugh
Who you love and how you mean it ?
And do you mean it ?"

Who can say whether our death will be dignified or not ? Perhaps it's better to do what we can to live a life that is as dignified as possible rather than worry about how it comes to an end.