Lately, I’ve taken to listening to the musings of an austere Catholic monk who is a member of a controversial religious order.
Apparently, his order has been kicked out of multiple regions for, among other things, expressing sceptiscism about the ‘rona pokey-poke and concern over creepy male teachers who need kids to “affirm” their womanhood while encouraging those same children to keep secrets from their parents.
Anyway.
The good monk is obsessed with death. Seems like he can’t go five minutes without saying “have you thought about *dying* recently?”, “you do know you’re going to *die*, don’t you?” or some variation thereof.
Much needed reminders.
Why?
For most, death is something that happens to “other people” these days. Talk of it is taboo, and Heaven forefend someone has the temerity to suggest you can, in fact, take actions to defend against the Reaper’s scythe – at least for a time.
In my uneducated opinion, I think there are two reasons for this:
1) When we removed religion from public life (whether you think this was a good thing or not is neither here nor there), we didn’t replace it with anything (e.g. teaching kids stoicism). The result of this is we have distraught grown adults saying their 96 year old nan who had been bedbound and insensate for the better part of a decade was “taken too soon”.
And,
2) Most people (in the literal sense, 64.5% of UK adults are overweight or obese as of 23/24) are on a fast track to the afterlife (stopping at “heart attack”, “stroke”, “diabetes”, and “joint dysfunction” stations, among many other grim destinations along the way). Absent a framework for coping with the inevitable, it’s much easier to stuff their heads in the sand, maybe making a token effort here or there, and viciously attack (up to and including threats of self harm through excessive eating or even offing themselves altogether) anyone who tries to help them in a meaningful way.
I’m not really sure what point I’m trying to make here.
But I suppose if this prompts just one person to truly take stock of their situation and take decisive action towards getting stronger and more in shape, not only for their own sake but for their family and others who rely on them, it has done its job.
And if part of that “decisive action” involves lining my pious pockets to the tune of £20 per month for a Phil Tyreman Letter subscription, all the better.
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Phil Tyreman