Countdown

We are programmed to die and the process begins even as we are born, whether through the birth canal or taken out surgically from the womb. It is a bell-shaped curve, the line moving upward as the baby grows and develops and the top of the curve represents its maturity while the downward line is the slowing-down as age creeps up.

It is interesting to note that youth and young adults take their well-being for granted even as they pursue their careers and build their families. It is only when something happens to them, such as an unexpected illness, that they stop to take stock. They may or may not re-assess the situation and take measures to address health issues and prepare for the future.

Those on the downward curve of the bell are usually retirees who now realize the countdown is very real as obituaries of acquaintances and contemporaries appear in the newspapers. How much time is there left? Is there enough to do all that I still have not done?

What can I leave behind me that will be meaningful to those whom I shall be leaving? Should I begin with paper work spelling out my last wishes? Or is that a taboo, inviting the inevitable to come sooner than later? Some people do not even want to make a will because of this.

Would it not be better to put everything down in black and while before dementia robs us of our wits?

How and what should be done with our remains is one issue which should be communicated to the living so that they will know what to do when the time comes. Putting aside a sum of money for this purpose has been the practice of the older generation in Chinese culture so as not to burden the off-spring. Then again in Chinese culture, those who attend one’s wake usually donate a sum of money known as “white gold” to help the family with funeral expenses.

Should dementia take hold, then what is to become of us? Will it matter since we won’t know what is happening?

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