Living life to the full

At Mass this morning our priest gave a sermon about how mankind spends its time trying to accumulate wealth power and possessions in a futile attempt to stave off the ultimate outcome of this existence. He remarked on how people fear death. This particular priest is an excellent preacher, he used to be a teacher, and is usually right most of the time with his observations of the human condition.

Whenever, I listen to his sermons I always come away thinking. I am very sanguine about death this is because I have a condition that can at a moment's notice cause my death. The condition of itself is no more fatal than actually being alive, which is 100% fatal in all cases unless I haven't been paying attention recently. How has this knowledge affected my life? Do I live each moment as if it's my last?

I have to admit that I have not managed to crack the second question yet and am still searching for something. My vices are music, films and books. It might have been nice to give sex, drugs and rock n roll a proper go but when I was still young enough to appreciate them my condition held me back. I don't do drugs because I have to take them every day until the day I die. I was allowed to sample alcohol under controlled conditions and along with my medication never saw the point of getting drunk. As for rock n roll I had a passing flirtation with bass guitar more as an academic exercise than as a real attempt to play seriously.

The turning points that helped me control my condition were twofold. Firstly on a BBC science program called QED which showed a fellow sufferer who refused to let his condition master him or let anybody else tell him how he should live his life because of it. The Rev Lionel Blue described the condition as like an evil cousin who visits occasionally and causes havoc. The second turning point was a teacher at my secondary school who on discovering my condition, which he shared, advised me how to deal with it.

The condition is epilepsy and you can live a normal life with it. As long as you take reasonable steps there is no reason to let it hold you back.

Back to the point of the post. If you can live your life to the fullest and being a Catholic does not have to mean living a diminished life in search of the eternal goal that we believe in. My advice to one and all is embrace life as you only get one go at it. Death is merely part of the process. The best we can hope for is that the death is peaceful or has purpose. To my friend who is having problems at the moment all I say to you is do not go quietly into that good night.

TTFN