Priorities in Life

Nothing does more to make you take stock of the priorities in your life than to have someone close to you near death. I first noticed this when my husband was ill. So many things begin to lose importance when you open your eyes to the impermanence of life.

People struggle throughout their lives to purchase toys, keep up with the "Jones's", lose weight, gain weight, wear just the right designer clothes. These things become absurd when we face the reality of death.

After a person dies, all of their treasures are dispersed to relatives or friends. Some, which might have been the owner's most beloved items, are sold. So many of the items we collect and treasure are only there from a shallow sense of acquisition lust. How do we convince ourselves that acquiring a ten thousand dollar vase to sit on a shelf is acceptable when there are people in this world living with no roof over their heads or clean water to drink? Maybe these are the priorities we're meant to learn in this life and maybe we'll have no peace until we do.

Today there are two people close to me who are being cared for in hospitals because they are terminally ill. Their basic priorities are to be kept comfortable and have their loved ones nearby. They have no interest in trinkets.

It's a good idea to stop once in a while and really think about the direction you want your life to take. Do you need what you think you need? Or has the media created a false need for you?

I know it's once again time for me to take stock of my own priorities.