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What maybe worse than "I got to die from something!" Maybe for the first time you will say, "That's true !"
"I GOT TO DIE FROM SOMETHING!"
By Uriah J. Fields
"I got to die from something!" is a common retort from a person who is warned by another person of the damage he is doing to his body by using substances that may include alcohol, tobacco, certain kinds of food and overeating.
For years I have pondered this statement of retort from an abuser, "I got to die from something!" when informd by another person that he is abusing his body by ingesting the aforementioned substance, and more recently saying to these body abusers the same thing Paul and Jesus said to people who disregarded the truth: "You are foolish!" or "You are a fool!"
The Apostle Paul said to the Galatians:
"You foolish Galatians, who has
bewitched you, that you should not
obey the truth. (Galatians 3:1)
Jesus informing the man who boasted about his material possessions:
But God said to him, "You fool!
This very night your life will be
demanded from you. (Luke 12:20)
Furthermore, and may be of greater importance than dying, as emphasized by the person who says "I got to die from something!" are: the suffering that he is likely to experience prior to death, sometimes for years, and the demands his debilitated condition may make on other people who will serve and take care of him, maybe for years. Dying may be the easy part, but prolonged suffering of the abuser and those taking care of the abuser may be much harder.
Canada:
Let me share this relevant experience that I had in Canada. In 1960, after my native State of Alabama, refused to approve my application, the first African American applying to attend the Alcohol and Narcotic summer session at Yale University, I was invited to attend the Alberta-Saskatchewan-Manitoba (AMS) School of Alcohol and Narcotic Education at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
My roommate ArdenT. from Portage la Prairie, Canada, told his fellow attendees that he has cirrhosis of the liver that was caused by twenty years of drinking alcohol. He said that even though he quit drinking alcohol seven years ago that he suffers from the pain cirrhosis of the liver causes. He added, even though I have not had alcohol for seven years and I am a dedicated Christian, the pain I have to endure is always present.
This good man, my roommate, writes in my autographed book that was autographed by most of the students and faculty members attending the AMS School:
I feel and hope that the association we
have had in rooming together has formed
the basis for a lasting friendship.You may
be sure that if I am ever near Montgomery,
Alabama we will see each other again.
Sincerely,
Arden T.
Portage la Prairie,
Manitoba.
So body-abuser, be aware that this is about more than "dying from something." It is about the suffering that you may endure, sometimes chronic and prolonged suffering, and the price and suffering others who may experience in caring for you "a debilitated you."
During the memorial of Senator John McCain
former President Barack Obama honoring McCain quoted these words of wisdom offered
by Ernest Hemingway that speaks eloquently
to a significant aspect of the aforementioned message:
Today is only one day in all the days
that will ever be.
But what will happen on all the other
days that ever come can depend
on what you do today."
Visit: uriahfields.com/gpage133.html
Copyright 2018 by Uriah J. Fields
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I started out with a healthy lifestyle and began an even healthier one after I was paralyzed at 20. We live in a time when we "stand on the shoulders of giants." We are privy to the research of many who have spent their lives determining a small factor in what makes one healthy. It is ongoing, so we must pay attention. Unfortunately, there are so many scams and instant cures, fads, out there that people jump on trying to solve their long-term health problems in a very short time. Health is lifelong. Living unhealthy in early life and then trying to "fix it" in later life just doesn't work. At an advanced age for someone who is quadriplegic from spinal cord injury, I am still healthy. However, the stress of my paralysis is sending me many symptoms, some very painful. I do not wish to live many years with pain, dependent upon others for everything, contributing nothing, not even any writing. I hope death comes swiftly because I have accomplished enough in my life to be happy with it. No regrets. No unfinished business.
Ron