Being Done Too Soon

Part of life is eventual death.  We have all lost loved ones, friends, colleagues and we mourn their/our loss.   It is particularly difficult to lose our loved ones when their death is premature.  When a loved one has lived to a ripe old age, had a fulfilling/wondrous life and death was without pain and suffering, we accept this much easier.  However, when we lose a cherished one that died at a relatively young age the mourning becomes more prolonged and sadder.  We lament to ourselves and to others that share the loss that our loved one was “done too soon”.

When a Martin Luther King, a JF Kennedy, a John Lennon or similar famous person dies prematurely, we similarly mourn much more intensely than when a famous person that has touched millions dies much later in life.  We know that the person that died prematurely had so much more to give to people over the ensuing, lost years.  However, their magic touch ended too early.  They were “done too soon”.

Obesity and the associated co-morbidities provide a clear and dangerous path for people being “done too soon”.  The damaging effects on the internal organs markedly accelerate the aging process leading to much higher risks of heart attacks, strokes, abnormal heart rhythms, cancer, diabetes complications and other serious medical conditions that cause people to be “done too soon”.

You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to NOT be “done too soon’.  When you are about to engage in behaviors that are detrimental to your health, take a few seconds pause to think about the (cumulative) results of these actions.   We all want to live to a healthy, older age and enjoy the many great events with our loved ones that await us.  The last thing we want is to picture a gathering of the very special people in our lives, all wearing black, lamenting to each other how “he/she was “done too soon.”

This entry is dedicated to my sister in law, Gail Posner:  A loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend.  Yesterday she joined my late brother Mark Posner, who similarly died in his 60’s.  They were both “done too soon”.

Gail loved Neil Diamond and so I will end this entry with his song, “Done Too Soon”.  Rest in peace Gail…we will miss you dearly.