Fighting On: Reflections on Mortality, Spirituality, and Aging

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We live next to the Santa Clara River here in Southern California. It is not uncommon to see local coyotes emerge from the hills and wander through our neighborhood, especially on these chilly spring mornings. Sometimes, we hear their howls echoing from the dry riverbed in front of our home. Recently, one was struck by a vehicle and left on the roadside until public workers arrived to remove it. Witnessing the death of another coyote made me reflect on life and mortality. As someone who works in healthcare, I regularly confront death, especially when treating patients with heart disease. These experiences, along with the recent loss of a dear coworker, remind me just how short life truly is. As I reflect on this, I think of a line from Browning: “I was ever a fighter, so one fight more, the best and the last! I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forebore, and bade me creep past” (Browning, as cited in Untermeyer, 1942, p. 876).

These personal and professional encounters have led me to reflect not only on the inevitability of death, but also on how we approach the process of aging. While many people search for the fountain of youth—wondering how to look younger and live longer—the real question might be how to age gracefully rather than bitterly (Brenner, 2023). Graceful aging encompasses not just physical appearance but also mental and psychological well-being, as well as the significance of spirituality as we grow older (Head et al., 2022). In reality, most people seek an insurance policy against death, desiring the promise of heaven or an afterlife. The pursuit of happiness, wellness, and longevity is nearly universal while we are alive, but when these aspirations seem unattainable, only then does “a sort of heaven” become appealing, as Erasmus (1941) observed. Ultimately, what happens after we die depends on one’s spiritual outlook.

Pascal, the renowned French mathematician, suggested there are three main types of people: those who have a relationship with God and strive to fulfill their calling in obedience and service; those who are searching for God but have not yet found Him; and those who neither seek nor have a relationship with Him (Hutchins & Adler, 1952). Scientists have found that aging can be accelerated by unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking or lack of physical activity, and that abundant food can also contribute to shorter lifespans. Brenner (2023), in a review of David Sinclair’s controversial book, Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To—a book I have not yet read—raises thought-provoking questions about the science and ethics of extending human life. Perhaps part of living is embracing life's brevity?

The Greek poet Lucretius commented (Adler, 1952, p. 36) on the subject of death, suggesting that the siblings of death are brother, agony, and sister, illness, forging an alliance. In summation of closing a reflection essay on life, death, and what is to come, the ancients perhaps can offer some comfort in the form of a salve for all of us, regardless of any religious preference, because of the commonality shared by all, as none of us is immune to its truth.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952). Lucretius: On the Nature of Things. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 12, pp. 1-97). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Brenner, C. (2023). A science-based review of the world’s best-selling book on aging. Archives of Gerontology & Geriatrics, 104, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2022.104825

Erasmus, D. (1941). The Praise of Folly (H. H. Hudson, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

Head, J. H., Lawrence, R. M., & Cullinan, R. J. (2022). Ageing. In C. C. H. Cook & A. Powell (Eds.), Spirituality and psychiatry (2nd ed., pp. 355–374). Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Hutchins, R. M., & Adler, M. J. (1952). God. In The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 2, pp. 543-604). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Untermeyer, L. (1942). A Treasury of Great Poems, English and American: From the foundations of the English spirit to the outstanding poetry of our own time, with lives of the poets and historical settings (2nd ed.). Simon and Schuster.