Parting Words

I was out in the garden this afternoon. It’s a long weekend and we’ve been meaning to put some work in, today was the perfect day for it.

As I was packing up for the afternoon, my neighbour, an elderly man in his late 70s, was getting out of a taxi and finishing up a cheerful chat with his driver. He wandered up the driveway and decided to continue the cheerful banter.

He commented on my work and asked what my wife and I did for work, and how long we had owned the house. I felt a little embarrassed at our good fortune, knowing he was in a flatting situation in his later stages of life. I couldn’t help but wonder where his family was, or what his story might be.

But he seemed happy enough and commented on what a wonderful day it was as we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

Later this afternoon some police cars turned up, followed by a hearse.

I could very well have been the last person he ever spoke to. It was a very confronting reminder of my own mortality, but also that we never really know when we will share our final moments; with someone we love, or even a complete stranger.

Death lingers in the background, and we do our best to ignore it. But In many ways, it shapes our choices. We do, or avoid, things with respect to the salience of our own mortality.

I think we often forget that we’re always facing the mortality of those around us too. It’s a good reminder to be kind to those we interact with because you could very well be their last experience of humanity.