Are you ready to die?

An extreme question for a title… Mortality has a certain reverence .. nah fear.. fear of an end of a life that we are yet to live fully.

A recent tweet from a dear friend provoked me to reflect on this topic .. yet again? She asked “What would you do if you know that you will die in 24 hours?”

Firstly I would consider that it is pure luck to know this. Personal experiences have shown that this certainty of life is almost uncertain and unpredictable. When, what can happen.. only the supreme Bhagwan above us knows all.

While we can get into cliched, unique & intelligent answers, the stark reality of this question needs to be answered by one and all. So let’s look at some of the spheres of life and see what can be done.

Finance is a field which is very touchy, highly personal & extremely sensitive. Well intentioned advice also is usually misconstrued and taken in the wrong context.

Ensuring that family members who can take sound financial decisions and actions are kept in the loop of all financial investments, liabilities and receivables is of primary importance.

Taking every family member, specially the spouse into confidence and ensuring that they are tech-savvy in modern day is of primary importance.

Not a laundry list, but having a will written down, covering the family with health insurance, having sufficient term insurance to cover liabilities bare minimum are some of the key steps one needs to take in life. Preferably, this should be set into motion at a young age when one starts their professional career in 20s with retirement nest egg on top of priorities.

There are some answers predictable.. I will enjoy my life.. speak to family.. speak to friends.. request for apology where its due.. apologise others etc.. Even I wrote some of these..

When I reflect I do find an existential question facing me.. WHY do we want to do this when we have just ONE day to live? Why can’t we live like this EVERY single day? As the cliche goes.. live every day as if its your last..

Maybe this question can spur a few thoughts on changes one may need to introduce into their lives..

Forgive people - I have written previously also.. Grudges don’t do any good and more often than not, one repents for holding the same.. Death is an amazing equaliser 

Develop a hobby - Why lament during last days? Invest in anything makes you happy early on or during your mid-life

Connect - Talk to friends - NOT WhatsApp, FaceBook, Twitter - meet them physically… engage with them personally 

Talk to your parents - Very important .. why lament you didn’t have enough time with them when you spent the waking / living hours caught in conflicts of Ego

Talk to your siblings - Money drives wedges .. before anyone tries to differ.. let me clarify.. I have seen too many wedges in immediate & next level family to have any other counter view .. at least for now .. They are the only ones you have when parents are gone.. Trust me.. being the only kid is like a curse.. when you realise that you don’t have support system when faced with life altering decisions (Yes.. been there… done that.. I know it personally first hand)

Talk to your children - keep talking to them over life.. We will never have enough time in life to tell what we want but at least fill their life with richness of happiness, experience and gratitude while we are at it

Give back to society - make it a life decision to actively engage and contribute to society in whatever form you can quite early.. personally I would say, this should start from childhood itself.. Don’t postpone till one is 60s and we have some X number of zeroes.. We will never be satisfied with the number of zeroes .. 

Practice Gratitude - Keep thanking Bhagwan for the wonderful life we have.. If one is reading this, they are quite privileged compared a large majority of the society.. so let’s be happy.. be thankful..

The idea of this post is not to pontificate for I am not wise enough to do so. The objective is to trigger a spark.. for a thought.. a conversation or something that may work better..

Now if the same question is posed to me… Maybe I am ready to an extent but I do have my shortfalls on some of the things I listed above.. so will make an effort to resolve the gaps over the coming days..

Death is like the only certainty that’s quite unpredictable and uncertain about it’s arrival..