Quote:
|
Quote by: Disinterested One should die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. (Friedrich Nietzsche). |
The statement does not speak of intentional suicide. He could have had suicide in mind, but it is not mentioned in the quote.
I think it is important to come to peace with the lives and death, because I have experienced intimately caring for those with a varity of physical and mental problems.
I spend Wednesday early afternoon with a women who is loosing her hearing and vision, and will will not be able to communicate with people in the near future. She is questioning the meaning of her life in such a condition.
Later in the day, I am with a 37 year old man dying off ALS. He has lost the use of his arms, and can't feed himself or do any of the bathroom things without help. He can't even turn over a night, and is dependent on people 24 hours a day for any movement, except some movement of his legs which allows him to hit an emergancy bottom. In time he will loose the ability to swallow and then the ability to breath. Living with dignity is a challenge for him.
Then there are those with Alzhiemer's disease. Another disease that requires great courage and can stripe us as any sense of meaning or dignity. There are many diseases that strip our lives of meaning and dignity, and I pray when my time comes, I have the courage and can maintain my dignity, and die gracefully.