A Catholic Priest, A Jewish Rabbi and a Baptist minister were discussing the beginning of life.
The Priest said, “Life begins at conception.” The Rabbi said he believed at birth. The Baptist minister thought for a minute and said, “I believe life begins when the last child leaves home and the dog dies.”
While there are different opinions about when life begins, what is the answer to the question, “When does life end?”
Most of us would agree that when we breathe our last breath is when it’s over for us. However, too often the ending of life is even more grim than us fighting for a breath of air and then we are nothing but a body of flesh and bone for someone else to dispose of.
Too often, life for many ends months or maybe even years before our final physical moment. Actually, possibly it has already happened to you and you haven’t even realized that you are already dead. You died and you didn’t even know it. You’ve been staring at your television, scrolling through social media and maybe even walking around the aisle of the grocery store just as dead as old King Tut, but not physically, just mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
It happens to the best of people. You lose all interest in life. You have nothing that you look forward to. There is nothing you particularly want to do, no place you really want to go and nobody you want to be around. You’re dying because you’ve given up.
There are several scenarios that can bring us to this motionless zombie stage of life: Losing a spouse, losing a job, losing a child, a business failure, financial failure, a major sickness or just outliving all your family and your friends. Too often, people detach themselves from everyone or anything going on, which limits their activity and interests even more.
No doubt crippling disease changes our personalities and our interests. Battling cancer, diabetes, a neurological disease or take your pick of many more, changes our attitude about wanting to be out and about and doing what we used to do. Going to church, the local Kiwanis meeting or singing in the community choir may not have the same appeal.
Regardless of what you or a loved one has going on it’s well to take notice of this stage of life and not be too hard on your friend or yourself. Here is what you must try:
1. Keep moving. Move whatever you can. Even if you are a wheelchair user, move your mind and whatever part of your body that you can move.
2. Keep doing. Do something. Read, pray, exercise, go to church, walk. Clean your house. Work a job, mentor people. Be a friend to others. Use your imagination.
3. Keep trying. As long as you can breathe, don’t quit.
4. Have something to look forward to. This can be anything. Someone’s birthday. A trip to the store. Moving the yard. A family gathering. A weekend trip, a movie, church, it can be almost anything.
5. Enjoy whatever you do. Laugh and have a good time.
The only person who can keep you down is yourself. Your No. 1 obstacle is usually yourself. If we can overcome what we mentally put ourselves through then we have a good chance of a good day. A good thought to add here is the scripture, “If God be for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8:21)
Another one is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Now, go and have a good day!
Dr. Glenn Mollette is the author of “Uncommon Sense,” available wherever books are sold.