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Living, in Limbo

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Re: Living, in Limbo

#51

Post by PieterH »

xgbi wrote: post #43

I remember the shortness of breath during my chemo. It wasn't lung cancer so it might be linked to the effects of the chemicals you get every other week. The red blood cells being wiped over and over when the Chemo destroys everything probably leads to a worse oxygenation. Wish you a good holiday, enjoy some good wine over there while you're at it!

Good point. Well, I'm going to get three whole weeks without chemo soon, so I'll know whether it's that or just my lungs slowly filling up with junk.

Re: Living, in Limbo

#52

Post by PieterH »

seletskiy wrote: post #35
gph wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think at the end of life people reflect more on themselves and their own personal beliefs on how the world works. But when we are living in the thick of it we live much more within each other and the greater whole of society because we have to. That's how we survive. We give up some of our brainspace to ideas and systems that are built communally, both on a local/familial level and on an entire social level. In oth…

Living for greater whole of society yet not thinking about own mortality looks like moving in wrong direction for me. They are not contrary lifestyles. The only problem with highest priority we all having right now as a humanity is very short lifespan and mortality. I do not see much difference in dying in the next 12 month or next 40 years.

As a parent who's been the primary caregiver for my young kids for years, it pains me to die when they aren't able to look after themselves yet. It is my one regret, really. So another 20 years would be cool from that perspective.

There's also the difficulty in forming any real plans, which often take a few years, if you don't have some belief that you'll live to see them through.

So telling ourselves "I'm going to live forever" (or at least 20 years more) is a basis for making long term plans like buying a house, having children, planting a garden...

Re: Living, in Limbo

#53

Post by PieterH »

ci5er wrote: post #32
PieterH wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My pleasure. Libero and SFL were my first open source projects and I'm glad they were useful.

I want you to know, that at every level, for me, you were loved, received and admired. I don't know the controls of this system well enough to be able to PM you that, but you should know this... Thank you.

:-) I appreciate it, truly.

Re: Living, in Limbo

#54

Post by petewailes »

PieterH wrote: post #51
xgbi wrote: post #43

I remember the shortness of breath during my chemo. It wasn't lung cancer so it might be linked to the effects of the chemicals you get every other week. The red blood cells being wiped over and over when the Chemo destroys everything probably leads to a worse oxygenation. Wish you a good holiday, enjoy some good wine over there while you're at it!

Good point. Well, I'm going to get three whole weeks without chemo soon, so I'll know whether it's that or just my lungs slowly filling up with junk.

Fingers crossed it's the chemo

Re: Living, in Limbo

#55

Post by fennecfoxen »

james-watson wrote: post #8

Surprisingly strong opinions on world politics, without much evidence. I have the utmost sympathy for the plight of the chronically ill, but to decree a referendum result as "madness" is slightly egotistical. Perhaps those who are outraged by world events merely don't see the full picture? Perhaps their protective shells work too well, and they are insulated from the reality with which the masses must contend? Worth…

Well, if you're looking for facts to back up the idea that Brexit is "madness", the value of the Pound immediately fell from ~$1.50 USD to ~$1.30 USD, in about a single day. It's not as mad as dropping atom bombs, but it seriously indicates a retreat from stability and a headlong rush into the unknown.

And as no one meaningfully important has put forward a plan about what sort of exit Brexit is going to take, that unknown is very uncertain indeed. Long-term things like real estate investment and corporate mergers are on hold, EU students going to British colleges are wondering if they'll be allowed to complete their university education (probably? but still) and vice versa...

Re: Living, in Limbo

#56

Post by seletskiy »

bootload wrote: post #47
seletskiy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, that behaviour strikes me most. Why, only on the edge of dying, people suddenly becomes "philosophical" and aware of their life and surroundings? Yet, it's obvious for all of us, that everyone now living will be dead after several decades. And no one seems to be really caring. For whatever reason people express strong grief about dead or soon-to-be-dead in the manner, that they by themselves will never ev…

"Why, only on the edge of dying, people suddenly becomes "philosophical" and aware of their life and surroundings?" In death, clarity comes from limited options.

Everyone has limited options, because everyone prone to the death, isn't it?

Re: Living, in Limbo

#57

Post by [deleted] »

bootload wrote: post #46
sdfin wrote: post #3

The proximity of death turns many people philosophical. I like reading what people think when looking at life from that perspective. I also enjoyed reading an article which was posted in HN some years ago, about the more common regrets of people on their deathbeds: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-fiv...

"The proximity of death turns many people philosophical." If philosophical means questioning things, yes. It also hints at being in the moment. Too often life is seen from auto-pilot. Death, being near it, seeing it, makes this change obvious. We'll all experience death in our on way. @PieterH does us all a favour here writing about this. Take a moment to reflect about this post and what it means to you. Thx @PieterH…

[deleted]

Re: Living, in Limbo

#58

Post by lars512 »

suddenseizure wrote: post #34
PieterH wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish you strength and courage. Spend time with your mom and tell her how much you love her, every chance you get. My own cancer is of the bile duct, spread to my lungs after five years' silence. I've accepted as fact that it's terminal, there is only "when", no "if". And even "when" is out of my hands, it's down to unreadable factors in my DNA and environment.

I wish you strength and courage too. My wife was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor (had no idea until I woke up to her having a seizure in bed next to me) and my previous world, all our plans, have shattered. The horrible thing about brain cancer is that radiation degrades you mentally very quickly. So we are thinking of opting for chemo only for now. Hoping that the quality vs quantity of life trade-off is worth…

I'm really sorry to hear it. My wife passed last year of her brain tumour, a medulloblastoma. It had come back a few years after it was first discovered and treated. Getting an initial diagnosis like that changes everything very quickly.

I'm wishing you both all the best, and some times of simple joy together to balance the rest of what you're going through.

Re: Living, in Limbo

#59

Post by lordnacho »

seletskiy wrote: post #27
sdfin wrote: post #3

The proximity of death turns many people philosophical. I like reading what people think when looking at life from that perspective. I also enjoyed reading an article which was posted in HN some years ago, about the more common regrets of people on their deathbeds: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-fiv...

Personally, that behaviour strikes me most. Why, only on the edge of dying, people suddenly becomes "philosophical" and aware of their life and surroundings? Yet, it's obvious for all of us, that everyone now living will be dead after several decades. And no one seems to be really caring. For whatever reason people express strong grief about dead or soon-to-be-dead in the manner, that they by themselves will never ev…

>>Why, only on the edge of dying, people suddenly becomes "philosophical" and aware of their life and surroundings?

Because when you expect to live indefinitely (as most of us are until old age) your priorities are different. A lot of what we do is insurance against being alive tomorrow. If you want a roof over your head and food on the table, you need to spend some of the present NOT thinking about the big questions. You might even lower your quality of life, just because you expect it to be long, for instance by taking a job you don't like.

Re: Living, in Limbo

#60

Post by k__ »

xgbi wrote: post #43

I remember the shortness of breath during my chemo. It wasn't lung cancer so it might be linked to the effects of the chemicals you get every other week. The red blood cells being wiped over and over when the Chemo destroys everything probably leads to a worse oxygenation. Wish you a good holiday, enjoy some good wine over there while you're at it!

I had a rather bad pneumonia once. Couldn't walk 10m without losing my breath. This only was for two weeks, thinking about living like that would drive me insane.
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