Life. You might be wondering why I’m blogging about such an existential topic…LIFE? I’m not sure why, either! It had something to do with several seemingly incongruent and serendipitous events that happened to me this morning.

First, my “Daily Stoic,” from Ryan Holiday, page for today was titled: “Don’t Mind Me, I’m Only Dying Slowly.” It was from Marcus Aurelius and read, “Let each thing you do, say or intend to be like that of a dying person.” The subtext is that we are all dying (no one gets out of life alive), and as soon as we can comprehend that idea, we can live life as if there is no tomorrow…to make every second that passes count. This is a strange way to think about living by thinking about dying, but let me build on my point.

Second, I was sitting in my sauna and finally watched the last episode of “Picard,” the Star Trek spinoff on the character Sir Patrick Stewart made famous. I had seen all but the last episode (I forgot there was one I hadn’t seen from last year). In the finale, Picard dies (don’t worry, he doesn’t) and meets with Commander Data, Brent Spinner, the sentient android who wants to be human in a quantum dream (afterlife). Cmdr. Data died in an earlier episode but cannot be dead because his “information” is stored in a computer. Data asks Picard to do him a favor and unplug him from the computer so he can finally achieve his ultimate goal of becoming “human” by becoming mortal. Stay with me here…our mortality, according to Cmdr. Data is what truly makes being human so unique. Being mortal makes love, joys, sorrow, hurts, laughs, and “life’s” experiences have true meaning. Unfortunately, commander Data cannot experience his dream of being human without dying.

On a personal note, I received my COVID-19 results this morning - positive. Now, although I was confident that after all the training, supplementing, lifestyle transitions, and “oddball” health and wellness practices I live by would see my immune system through this contagion, I nonetheless might have had an outcome very different (as sadly experienced by the millions of COVID-19 deaths). This brush with mortality gave me a moment for pause (who knows when we will meet our end) — enough uncertainty that I started to formulate this blog.

Finally, I was listening to a radio broadcast about the Physics of Cosmology by Dr. Donald Lincoln. He was expounding on the idea that because our planet, when it cooled, quickly became hydrated with water — water being formed from two of the most common elements in the Universe, hydrogen and oxygen. Now, in geologic time, life began VERY rapidly once the water was formed (please, this isn’t meant to challenge anyone’s religion or beliefs about a divine Creator, but is simply a contemporaneous conversation in “MY” head). He contends that there should be “LIFE” teaming in the Universe. Potentially billions of lifeforms; lifeforms possibly typing a blog on their computer about “LIFE!”

Addendum: As I closed my day today, I saw “Citizen Kane,” the 1941 classic. Again, as another twist or incident would occur, there was a quote from Mr. Bernstein, “Old age, it is the only disease that you don’t look forward to being cured of.” I think the Universe was telling me something!

Yes, it was an exciting day today for me…

Be well! Stay healthy! Tell someone you love and appreciate them, hold a flower to your nose and experience the fragrance, do a random act of kindness, or close your eyes and give thanks to whomever you feel put you here. And, most of all, embrace what a wonderful gift you have - LIFE!