Accepting Mortality

It is undeniable that certain things change as we get older. Our eyesight and hearing diminish, muscles weaken, bodily systems begin to fail, and inevitably, the body succumbs to death.
Sometimes this is a slow, lengthy process and sometimes it is sudden and unexpected. But, in reality, we all know and appreciate our mortality; we know that we are all going down on that plane, eventually. But facing this reality is like staring at the sun – too hard.
As the prospect of death approaches, we can have anxiety about the unknown, fear about who and what we are leaving behind, and we cycle through a range of emotions like anger, depression, guilt, sometimes shame, and denial and rationalization to manage what the medical experts are saying.
And we sometimes feel relief with the thought of being free from pain or no longer a burden on others. These are all normal. Successful aging is all about managing setbacks, and staying positive in the face of adversity, even our own mortality.