Contemplating mortality

As the new year unfolds, a series of passings have occurred in the quiet of our neighbourhood, bringing the realities of life and death into sharp focus. Among these, the untimely demise of a young man in his mid-20s stands out. It strikes close to home, particularly for my daughter, who grapples with the loss of a peer for the first time. This event challenges our usual perceptions of death, typically associated with the elderly, and brings a profound shock to our community.

To console my daughter, I likened life to a completed jigsaw puzzle. The young man, having assembled his puzzle, had perhaps seen the complete picture of his life. In this view, his passing represented a return to his origins, as destiny had deemed his earthly journey complete. This perspective was contrasted with the sorrow expressed at the funeral, where the natural order of life and death – parents preceding children – was lamentably inverted.
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The images used in this presentation were created using DALL.E and Leonardo image AI ( Image of Young Man )