Living

david hobbs · Living

How long would I choose to live.

meiah

Until I am finished

david hobbs

But sometimes I feel as if I haven't even started.

Raymond

I feel like that all the time. I would live in this life for a lot longer than I know I will have.

I know I will regret it when I leave this life.

Even if I live until I am 100 I will still feel unfinished.

meiah

Me too...but that is how long I would "choose" to live.

I feel as if I haven't started mostly when I start a new direction. Then I feel that I don't have enough time to finish. Its not a hopelessness, but a driving passion. Alive. Wonderful. New.

Raymond

It's interesting this topic has come up. I have met two people this week who no longer want to live.

The first was a man in his 70's who has just been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. It's advancing at quite a rapid pace and by the Summer he will no longer be able to use his arms or legs and his speech will have completely gone. He wants to die before that happens and I can fully appreciate why.

The second was a woman in her 50's who just doesn't want to live anymore. She's perfectly healthy, doesn't seem to be depressed, but she just feels that she's had enough. I find this attitude a little odd but that's how she feels.

These people have got me thinking. I'm all for assisted suicide, 100%. In the case of the motor neurone man I fully support him.
If I had some incurable disorder that was only ever going to get worse I too would want to die before I became a burden to anybody.

But what about the second case? Should a perfectly healthy woman be allowed to end her life just because she doesn't want to 'do' life anymore?
It's her life, do we have the right to make go on living when she clearly doesn't want to?

I really can't make up my mind on this one.

meiah

If someone is fit and healthy, and chooses not to live (and really means that), surely they could end it easily enough? Why would they need help?

This may be my ignorance speaking, but I would have thought its easy enough to die, if you are not afraid of taking that step. If you are afraid, then maybe you don't actually want to go?

laura

Raymond

Yeah I understand what you're saying, suicide is always an option.

I think the big thing with this woman I met was the fact she had kids and a parent and didn't want to cause them all the grief her suicide would bring.

Still, it is a very strange thing

I can't imagine wanting to die.

david hobbs

I posted this thread after visiting my mother in law who has Alzheimer's and is getting worse every day..

I look at the "quality" of her life and at my age I wonder how long before that might just be me.

It just makes me enjoy myself all the more.

The other thing that it changes is the way I feel about other people.

I value old friends and hold my tongue a lot when with young people.

Sometimes I feel like shouting at them "you are young for Gods sake do something.

Still I shall do something until I drop but then I always have, and if I'm not dead when I hit the ground I shall insult Raymond and he will finish the job.

GenieDi

I've had a lot of upsetting times with my Mum over the past couple of years. Dad is very ill, has advanced Parkinsons, heart problems, is almost 100% incapacitated Mum has to do everything for him. She herself has a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure. Dad is only 71, Mum 70, no age at all. Dad has been ill for over 15 years, their quality of life is almost nil.

Several times Mum has said she would rather take tablets and end it all. very upsetting to hear, but I can understand it, Dad on the other hand for the most part is very much against ending things like that.

I do worry when he has a down time as he does now and then, if Mum was the same it would come to that.

It's their Golden Wedding on Saturday and as per usual they are doing nothing to celebrate.

A real shame.

Raymond

Everyone talks about living a healthy lifestyle, giving up smoking, losing weight, taking excercise - all aimed at living a longer life.

But what's the point of having a longer life if you're going to spend the final 10 years of it sitting in your own p*ss and sh*t?

I'd love to have a long life but quite frankly if I'm going to end up how my grandparents ended up towards the end then I'd rather go sooner thankyou very much.

Just off for a quick fag......