Maclean's, Canada's weekly national news magazine, has a unique last page entitled 'The End.' I go to this page first because it's so engaging. It features a chronicle of a person's life, and then in the last paragraph the writer explains how this person met his/her end, usually far too early.
One notices a dominant theme for all of these lives. They lived with vitality and enthusiasm. Consider the chronicle about Holly:
- Holly was blind by the age of 13 and began attending a school for the blind where she applied herself, won awards, and began horse back riding and rock climbing.
- She progressed through several universities and into a Master's degree and worked for the government.
- She developed diabetes but still always tried something new.
- Her friend mentioned that he was learning sky diving. She asked "Can I go?"
- Finally she was at a party with friends and was later dropped off at her home by a cab. She became disorientated and fell off an embankment. Holly was 31.
One is encouraged to think about one's own life while reading these chronicles. To what extent am I living a life of vitality and meaning?
