Said María Branyas Morera, quoted in "World’s oldest person, whose secret was avoiding ‘toxic people,’ dies at 117/María Branyas Morera, a U.S.-born Spaniard, died in her sleep. Her family said she recently spoke of nearing death and that she would miss daily mundanities like drinking coffee" (WaPo).
The quote made me think of these lines from Seneca, in "How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life" (commission earned):
Take this on faith from me: I won’t tremble, at the last moments; I’m prepared. I don’t think at all about the entire day ahead. Praise and emulate that man who does not disdain to die, though it’s pleasant to live; what virtue is there in leaving by being thrown out? Yet here too is a virtue: I’m being thrown out, but let me take my leave nonetheless. The wise man is never thrown out, for to be thrown out is to be expelled from a place that you leave unwillingly; the wise man does nothing unwillingly; he flees from necessity, since he desires that which it will force upon him. Farewell.
Posts
21 comments:
I recently volunteered to work at a hospice. They sent me a questionnaire. One of the questions was whether I feared death. I answered No. I fear suffering.
No "Biden" tag?
Why fear death? It's not like there's any way around it.
I re-heard this from one of the Harry Potter movies (never read the books) and it rather resonates with me nowadays:
Death searched for the youngest brother as years passed but never succeeded. It was only when the third brother reached a great age, he took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. Greeting Death as an old friend, they departed this life as equals.
Hmm, what did I do wrong for my hyperlink?
@David53
You didn't close the quotation marks around the URL
"Did she really say, “staying away from toxic people” ? I'd like to hear the audio, that doesn't sound like things I've heard other centenarians say."
I thought the same thing. It really seemed to be paraphrasing something she may have said. I loathe the expression "toxic people" and think it short circuits decent thinking. I see it as a millennial quirk. It's not of my generation, and this woman was 45 years older than me.
María Branyas Morera shares a birth year with Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne. Can't imagine them talking about other people as "toxix."
Thank you.
The wise man takes a knee and hopes to remain unnoticed?
“ Yet here too is a virtue: I’m being thrown out, but let me take my leave nonetheless.”
AKA “sour grapes”.
Science cannot discern origin and expression.
Four score and seven years ago, she was 20
The wise man breaks wind and is gone.
She was 30
117, thats really is a long life. Most of us will be lucky to see 85
"Last moments" and missing coffee thereafter do not compute.
I think that "toxic" quote is similar to Bob Woodward's writings about Wm Casey --made up of whole cloth.
I will be 70 next April. I seem to be in fairly good health, thanks to Medicare and an expensive supplement and drug prescription policy. I don't know how many years I have left. Though heart disease sprints in my family tree, in 2017, I had a cardiac cath done and when I came out of the anesthesia, the Indian doctor told me not to worry, my "pipes are very clean -- you don't have to worry about a heart attack -- but you will stroke out if you don't get that blood pressure under control." That I did with 2 drugs and it's been great ever since. (I had just wanted to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle earlier in Jan 2017, which I did). As others have said, I am ready for "my time". The paternal side of my family lives until their late 80s. I don't know if I can afford to live that long, given the cost of housing and living. I would prefer to go quietly; my mother was the only one who had cancer, but she smoked for 40 years. Never smoked, sober over 30 years, in decent shape and weight. Forgetful, lots of OA pain that I drudge through daily, but I don't complain about it. I want to write my memoirs, be fit enough to hold a part-time job to supplement my income, and not suffer with a lingering death. Whatever God has in store for me, I'll have to accept.
Does anyone know who holds the record for being the world's oldest human for the world's longest time. That would be a cool record to have. There was that woman in France who sold stationery to Van Gogh. She was very old, and she kept on getting older. There's speculation, however, that it was fraudulent.....By and large, I prefer senescence to adolescence. I wouldn't mind having another go at my thirties and forties though.
Hmm. First Seneca and now the thoughts of this lady. Are you trying to prepare us for something, Althouse? Having just had to deal with a serious illness I am sympathetic, and I hope you pull through.
I don't know that I fear death as much as I enjoy life.
Post a Comment