I read with increasing sorrow, shock, dismay and horror the Sept 26th article on euthanasia, euphemistically called MAiD.
We, all of us, suffer loss, pain, tragedy, trauma, ill health. Life happens. For years I had a sign on my fridge “pain is inevitable, misery is optional.” So I get it. But to so glowingly promote this “legal practice” (slavery was once legal, enough said?) is a slap in the face to those who daily get up, choose life, and try to make the world a better place.
John Donne is famously quoted as “every death diminishes us,” and more importantly “no man is an island.” Can we please take the next few minutes to thoughtfully explore these ideas?
Think of the hand and foot painters with their lovely cards, the disabled veterans and wheelchair athletes who help the youth, the blind musicians who compose and play, the authors whose works show us new worlds beyond our own, even when their own lives are difficult?
There is beauty to be found, and joy to be shared even when - or especially when - we are in pain. Watch the last 15 minutes of any movie such as Rocky, Karate Kid, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Schindlers List. Was what they did in any way “easy?” Is that what we expect our lives to be? If we think of our lives, it is often in the most difficult moments that our true person becomes its very best - when we do not give up.
In the movie Starman, Jeff Bridges is asked what he takes away from meeting human beings. He replies: “I love that they are at their very best when things are at their worst.” Think about that.
If no man is an island, what legacy is death as a solution to pain? Should we all just give up and die?
Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” is worth a read before quitting on life. He wrote it for his ill and aging father. That was not an easy situation.
And if all else fails, why not take a solid six months and explore beyond “being spiritual” to “being religious?" What is there to lose? What if we truly are beloved sons and daughters of the one true eternal God? And what if, by pulling the plug too early, we miss the chance to find out what our life purpose is at this very (painful) moment? We will never know how great our life could have been.
Is there not even one person on the earth who we feel we can help? Someone we can share hope and healing with? Are there no more books to write, no music to play, no chess games to win, no beauty or wisdom to share?
Finally, I do hope the Cochrane Eagle does another two pages very soon on the kind of people that inspire others to get up each day, and, in spite of their own hardships, show the rest of us in this world what courage and strength look like.
No man is an island. We need to be careful what legacy we leave. Do we teach others to give up or to keep going? What lessons do we wish to leave for the next generation, who will also certainly struggle?
It really matters. The next generation deserves better.
Sincerely,
Nathene Arthur
Cochrane, Alberta
