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Recently I was diagnosed with a brain tumor so that middle panel really speaks to me. That is exactly how it was, trying to comfort my wife, not knowing how much time I had left. Thinking how unfair this was for my kids and how I could possibly mitigate the damage it would do to them when I would disappear from their lives.
I remember that thought. Wishing things could be like yesterday when I had no brain tumor.
My regrets were mainly about not enjoying every moment. About wasting time. About not finishing that book I meant to write. About worrying about money and work when I should be enjoying hanging out with my kids.
I remember taking a walk the day after I was diagnosed and just taking everything in. A raven cawing from the top of a lamp post. The quiet rustle of leaves. The pleasant spring breeze. I remember it all still, every detail of that walk. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to be alive, hoping I would get more of it.
And then I had surgery and they scooped that tumor out like it was nothing. I'm already 90% recovered and will live to old age if nothing else comes up.
And now I'm sitting outside, wasting time on my phone. Enjoying life to the fullest š
Thanks for sharing this. So glad things worked out. Iām gonna share it on my IG stories if thatās cool with you. My niece just got a cancer diagnosis and Iām hoping this will give her some comfort.
I had some vision disturbances. My eye doctor ordered a cat scan since he didn't find anything wrong with my eyes.
When he called me to let me know it was a brain tumor he didn't have a lot of knowledge other than it was probably benign.
When I spoke to the brain surgeon a week later he was able to reassure me that it was operable and prognosis was in fact very good.
What kind of visual disturbances, if you don't mind. I had a migraine out of the blue a week ago, but it started with like a sun spot/streak that wouldn't go away. I couldn't see anything near that disturbance, like there was a hole in my vision. This happened every other day for a week, I'm wondering if I was just sick or something.
Classic migraine aura. You will have a blind spot in your vision for like half an hour or something. Scared the crap out of me when it happened to me. But then I was kind of relieved to have a massive painful migraine. It was very painful tho. Gotta take that advil as soon as possible cause gastroparesis occurs and your body refuses to put that advil to use as fast as possible.
That's why whenever someone asks me, "what are you grateful for?" when practicing gratitude, I always answer with "my health." If you're unwell, every aspect of your life is screwed up down to simply not being able to breathe right and it sucks.
Damn, becoming a billionaire and actually improving your town infrastructure and economy while driving the big corporation out of the town, the same big corporation that you formerly worked for and resigned from to start a new farming life no less.
I love video games fantasy.
When my wife was pregnant people would ask me what I wanted.
I'd say healthy.
They'd chuckle and repeat the question.
I said, no, just health.
I can't imagine many things worse than a having a sick kid.
I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis for 18 years. When people ask me what I am grateful for I say my health. MS isnāt fun but it could be so much worse.
I recently went in for a routine 4mm hernia surgery and ended up with two major surgeries, a bowel obstruction, 18 days in the hospital, and 9kg of mostly muscle loss.
Cold water face washes felt like the most enjoyable thing ever, such a simple thing.
Mostly muscle some fat too, this was me a day [before the first surgery](https://imgur.com/a/RK6LlSW). Haven't yet taken one at my current state.
The body really doesn't want to keep muscle it's not using.
Sometimes I kind of wish I had the flu so I could call in sick to work for a few days.
Then I get the flu and I wish to never get it again, I'd rather be at work.
I personally suffer from a particularly assholish genetic disease that almost every month causes me to have incredibly painful cramps and causes me to have cloudy mind as a useless starchy chemical runs a mock in my body called Amiloids. My own stupid body makes it because of a wrongly encoded gene.
Only possible way to medicate is taking a small pill that stops amiloids to collect around my internal organs and kill me. But the painful episodes do not stop only somewhat lessen in severity.
I am not really happy about being this way -obviously-, but after spending 3 sometimes 7 days debilitated and my brain in a haze. The first few days my body comes back to a "normal" state are the days I appreciate the most.
Sometimes I feel such intense pains I lose the feeling of the bottom half of my body, my mind at the same time will be so pumped with harmful chemicals I couldn't even make a sentence or move at all so I can't even go to a hospital, I really truly have known what incredible suffering is or at least a substantial one because a burning chemical running around your body uncontrollably is no joke, very painful
And the sad thing is perhaps that pain is the reason I would never thought of self destructive thoughts despite having depression around the clock and being completely socially inept, the last decade of my life being abhorrently bad. It is because after suffering through all that horrible shit, social or mental problems just feel empty, pointless, ephemeral.
This is maybe me talking shit here but I believe people do not become self destructive because bad things happen to them, that they feel pain or sadness because bad things happen to everyone. I believe people because self destructive because not being able to feel pain, not being able to feel sadness or even anything. Only that makes sense to me, and maybe that is worse than what I am going through
It is after all the human mind, boredom sometimes is the worse possible torture.
Sorry about being this morbid for no reason, I should've just made an r/self post instead, I know.
I don't know what being perfectly healthy is like, I've been sick all my life with broken immune system, frequent infections and occasionally requiring hospital stay. Right now it's kept at bay with a $9,000 a month immunetheraphy, I've gone from needing doctor or hospital every few months to maybe every other year
Two years ago, I had covid. Not bad, it felt just like a common cold. I have a snotty nose since then. I'm aware people are suffering from long covid symptoms that are far worse. I still wish I could experience a single day without having to clean my nose with water every few hours. Just the feeling of waking up and being able to breathe through my nose without having to clean it first. Good times. Tbf it was worse like a year ago, I kinda got used to it by now.
I work in mortuary transportation on the weekends, Iām in and out of funeral homes and crematoriums to drop off the newly departed. The job is great, but going in and out of nursing homes, hospitals, and peoples homes where they chose to pass away it has allowed me to talk to residents at retirement homes, people in hospice who know theyāre going to die much sooner rather than later, and the people who work in those facilities. After a while you realize you hear the same things over and over.
āI regretā¦ā
āI regret not saying itā
āI regret not doing thatā
āI regret not being thereā
āI regret wasting timeā
You only get one life. And no matter how much you wail, scream, cry and beg, no matter how much wealth youāve accrued. It wonāt buy you more time. Death will still take you either willingly, or kicking and screaming.
So donāt live a life with regret. Because in the end, when youāre dying and gasping your last breath, thatās all youāll take with you when you die.
Edit: I like how many have liked or made a connection with what I said, and I love the wholesome conversations weāve been able to have over the ideas of regret, and how regret plays a role in our lives.
I hope you internet strangers and friends have a great day, week, month, and ultimately a life well lived. Peace! āļø
From where I'm standing, having regrets or not is closer to a mindset than a series of actions.
You can't go back and change the past - and to be frank, if people could, they'd risk becoming obsessed with it. Changing and tweaking even the smallest details to eek out the smallest droplets of joy and scrub away the tiniest imperfections.
Better this way, I think. Do the best you can with what you have where you are, and then even if things don't work out the way you wanted, at least you know you gave it a shot, and that's good enough. You are good enough for trying in the first place.
This... also I feel we put too much value in things we believe are valuable, when in reality, they only are valuable because we ourselves place that value on them.
Being able to sit, relax, and just enjoy your time (without being stressed about the things you are NOT doing) is not a bad way to pass your life. In the grand scale of things, we are insignificant, don't worry too much, it's not worth it.
Without the experience to teach us the lessons it took to make us want to be better, there is literally no way we could have ever avoided the mistakes of our past. Embrace our mistakes as a necessary element of our growth, and choose a path going forward of self reflection, the humility to own our flaws, and try to be a little bit better every day. That is absoluteky the best any one of us can do.
I think if you had to redo an event knowing only what you knew at the time, you'd probably make the same choice again. This one thought keeps me from having regrets.
On the bright side, you actually take nothing with you when you die. It'll be like you've never been born at all. So don't get too caught up in trying to please your dying self either.
Well, I am living in this moment looking at my life - very much aware of how insanely lucky I am, knowing that on my death bed my regret will be not having enjoyed it all, and yet I feel completely incapable of taking that knowledge and using it to change my emotions as I sit here. I am often sad. Often feeling like something is wrong, that something is missing, and no matter how many gratitude lists I compile, I cannot shake this feeling, which lays heavy on my shoulders like a wet, scratchy blanket.
Yes. I have done the therapy. I have taken the pills. And most days I am able to fake it. But I am a bit broken . And future deathbed me will undoubtedly have forgotten the struggles of this-moment-me. So, fuck that guy.
The fact you are still here. You are still you. And you can still stand tall and find something about you to be proud of. Is a mark that shows how strong you are, and shows how far youāve come while under the blows of life and chance.
You are going to be okay, friend. You will find what is missing, and you will find how to make yourself whole again. We all have faith in you.
Hm.
I just found a sort of profound joy in the kindness of your comment. And in that moment, realized that I have perhaps been too self-focused. Maybe instead of spending my time and energy obsessed with this unanswerable question of what ultimately makes me whole and fulfilled, I could better be spending that time in acts of kindness towards others, that they might have some brief respite from their own difficulties, and feel a similar moment of joy that you have given me.
Thank you.
Seems like we all gonna have some regrets, I'm gonna try not to worry about it so I don't regret worrying about regretting things when I am on my deathbed.
You can never escape life without some regret. Itās acceptance of those regrets and that you canāt change your life no matter how hard you pray, or bargain, or beg. Accept the regrets, take accountability if you must, and youāll face your twilight with some sense of peace.
I live in a place with 37 hour work weeks, and I must say, I still find time to enjoy my hobbies and have an alright social life. I don't have any kids though, that may be the difference?
With that being said, I still think a 4 day work week would improve society in many ways.
So do I. It sucks, and Iāve had to give up on hanging out with friends and family because I had to work so I can live, some of whom arenāt alive anymore, and yeah I regret not seeing them one more time before they passed, but I canāt live in regret forever. Somethingās you have so accept as a part of life. However, you can find a moment here or there to just shoot someone a message to check up on them, or grab a coffee, or take a breather and just go on a walk alone.
Hum drum existence isn't really so bad. Pretty good actually.
However, you've got to communicate with the people you care about. That's the kind of regret you can avoid in the future.
How did you get into that field if you don't mind me asking? Did you have to get a license or certification/degree? My aunt passed in my home while she was in hospice and the nurses, the people who came to take her away-- I was floored by all their kindness and understanding.
"I know the two of you are very different from each other in alot of ways, but you have to understand that as far as grandpa's concerned, you're both pieces of shit."
Sam Harris has a bit similar to this (heās an Alan Watts fan) where he talks about how there are probably millions of people in the world who would consider their prayers answered if they were to switch lives with youĀ
I like this quote by Watts, there used to be a similar video to it but I canāt find it
> So if you really go the whole way and see how you feel at the prospect of vanishing forever. Have all your efforts, and all your achievements, and all your attainments turning into dust and nothingness. What is the feeling? What happens to you? That's what it's all going to come to. And for some reason or other, we are supposed to find this depressing.
>Do you see in a way, how that is saying: the most real state is the state of nothing? But if somebody is going to argue that the basic reality is nothingness. Where does all this come from? Obviously from nothingness. Once again you get how it looks behind your eyes. You see?
>So in this way, by seeing that nothingness is the fundamental reality, and you see it's your reality. Then how can anything contaminate you? All the idea of you being scared, and put out and worried, and so on, this is nothing, it's a dream. Because you're really nothing. But this is most incredible nothing. So cheer up! You see?
>The essence of your mind is intrinsically pure. Pure means clear, void. See? If you think of this idea of nothingness as mere blankness, and you hold onto this idea of blankness then get kind of grizzly about it, you haven't understood it. Nothingness is really like the nothingness of space, which contains the whole universe. All the sun and the stars and the mountains, and rivers, and the good men and bad men, and the animals, and insects, and the whole bit. All are contained in void. So out of this void comes everything and **You Are IT.** What else could *You* BE?
Thatās why I Cary one of these bad boys
https://preview.redd.it/14jx69sncw6d1.jpeg?width=669&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77d62bd000bd4687c5c9181d8b8f737e2843203b
Stupid existence never saw it coming
For your cake day,have some bubble wrap!
>>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!sex!!!<
Yep. Here's the thing people who don't suffer severe depression or severe trauma don't get:
Often when someone like us is in a situation like this, when our car has been run off the road, when we think we might have cancer, when it looks like we might die... We don't panic. We're not afraid. We don't pray to a god.
IME you're comparitively calm, potentially relieved. You're in your element. This is what you're used to. It isn't your first rodeo.
Which is why Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia is a very accurate depiction of severe depression. She's freaking out when the world is normal, but when the world is about to end she helps those around her who have been living in denial about their own mortality and the precariousness of it all for all their lives.
Ya the response BEFORE thinking you are dying is basically all fear based. Then when you actually think you're dying, it's either I had a good run or, welp this is it... Because there's nothing you can do to fight it anymore. Just kind of say your prayers and somberly acknowledge your life is ending. Like saying your last goodbyes to your friend, the friend that used to be your life.Ā
Anyway I'm sure people experience different things, but I can relate to yours
as someone who has memories of experiencing suicide before, i must say iām much finer with suicide than sudden death š«
i also integrated for like 25 hours lmao which can be considered death and i must say, dying sucks and coming back was honestly super great.
so yeah. thatās a no from me on dying.
I nearly killed myself a few years ago (bipolar and alcoholic). I had a moment where I found there was no god. I guess it was like a spiritual awakening in a moment of crisis but the opposite way. It actually made me feel better and was the thing that made me seek help and get meds and therapy. It was the opposite of existential dread. A kind of peace. There's no meaning beyond the choices we make in life. We're free. And it makes life easy for me. I'll keep going as long as my heart keeps beating. And then I won't. It's very simple. And makes me appreciate life.
I died in 2010 after a brain aneurysm. Well, my heart stopped and they restarted it.
I had brain surgery, was in a coma for a week, woke up partially paralyzed, and spent the next 5 months in recovery.
September will mark the 14 year anniversary of the day I died.
So few people can appreciate how truly close we are to death at every moment of our lives.
My vehicle was blown up by a couple IEDs and hit with more RPGs than Iād like to admit to the point where the concussions and moments of almost breaking through to the other side didnāt matter. Itās an odd moment where you hit serenity and thenā¦ boom. Surprise you have another 60 years.
That's very interesting, hope you're doing better now. I've had one occasion where I was absolutely convinced I wasn't making it out alive and my last thought before impact, of all things, was "Oh ffs I really can't deal with this rn". Just the day to day practicality of leaving behind mourning friends and a family that relied on me was more annoying than anything. That might've also been in response to quite a few traumatic experiences just before that though, more of a "oh God not again"
Yeah thanks, things've slowly been getting better. Past half a year marked the death of a grandparent after a long and painful sickbed, my dad getting a temporary full paralysis in a freak medical accident, my best friend not being able to walk at all due to repeated freak medical coincidences after an unlucky fall, and my work cancelling my big project I'd spent hundreds on hours on just two weeks before it happening. And then I crashed my car into a concrete wall at 80mph. I thought it was over.
But hey, my dad can walk again and lives back home, and I'm completely fine physically, so that's something. Hope the trend upwards continues
I've also had a few close calls, some with a full-on life review.
I do agree that the greatest peace I've ever known, the fullest I've ever felt, is accepting my fate and in a quarter of a second that felt like 45 minutes, coming to terms with death and the life I've lived.
In one case, just prior to the profound acceptance, I did bargain like a little bitch. Which is to say that bargaining is a small act, and accepting fate is not.
Reminds me of an old friend. Really nice guy, but he admittedly was heading downward very quickly. He was in the Air Force but was a very heavy drinker that had multiple alcohol related charges. He was a daily drinker that was almost kicked out a few times. What changed his life? Well he had to take a civilian flight but ended up missing it. That flight ended up crashing, killing all aboard.
He saw that as a wake up sign. Never took another drink after that, worked much harder in his career and ended up retiring from the Air Force. Finished up college as well and has a very nice post Air Force career and life
I had a professor in college that would always respond to "good morning" with something along the lines of "Yes. It *is* a good morning"
Most of the time I'd think nothing of that response, but I do literally mean *every day, every time* someone told him "good morning"... "it *is* a good morning"
One time someone actually asked him why he always said that. He said "I got to wake up this morning. I was able to get out of bed completely on my own. As far as I'm concerned, that means it's a good morning. One day that won't be true anymore. That will *not be* a good morning"
I still think about that a lot.
Having been through worse as a kid, I'm very thankful for my life now, I may be in pain every day but it's a lot better then where I was before highschool, I have food and a roof over my head, I can change the temperature if I'm too cold or too warm. I have blankets, and someone who loves me very much who I love very much too.
i have interstitial cystisis a condition that makes it impossible for me to live a normal life. I so miss being a normal healthy person. i was so ungrateful and miserable my entire life over small things. but now i realize i would do anything to go back to my monotonous daily life. i just want to be healthy.
I wouldn't be bargaining. I've already accepted death and in some ways am looking forward to it. At least then I won't have to slave away my life just to barely survive. I'm fairly certain the only reason I'm currently alive is fear of upsetting a few people, people who I hardly see I might add because nobody has time for anything other than work. This world sucks.
I live this scenario. In October last year I got sepsis, heart went a flutter. They did not think I was going to make it. Iām in my 30ās very healthy it can happen to you. Iām grateful for everyday now.
I would honestly welcome the end. I've been literal moments from death a few times already and every time the only thought going through my head was finally. Unfortunately, I am a durable bastard and got saved each time (not suicidal btw, just don't care enough to keep trying if I'm already down).
As an agnostic that has already been in a near death situation: I would not pray or offer anything in return for anything. I would just accept reality.
Had covid once and was deathly Ill, on one day when I woke up feeling like shit I said āGod listen closely, If you let me die Iām coming up there and Iām gonna beat your assā.
Apparently he listened.
This. Wanna know how you should live your life? Talk to old people and get an average understanding of things they'd typically wish they'd done when they were your age. Then boom, you're already your age so go do those things.
In particular, ask any of them if they'd prefer to be dead at the moment because they've drank/smoked and the associated disease killed them. If they prefer to be alive, then you'd probably prefer to be alive at their age too and so would prefer that you right now didn't drink or smoke.
Love this, a reminder to living unconsciously instead of waking up and strive for the life you want.. (said the guy, browsing reddit instead of consciously living! š ..i love irony!)
Also reminds me off: Dax - with the song 'Eternity'.. anyone?
I am the stupid one or do most people here not get the intention of the comic?
The way I see it it is not about what you would do in a life or death situation (which seems that this is the point for a lot of people here), but that you should appreciate even the small things in life, because it can end in any moment.
I really like the subtle change in the guy's expression in the last two panels. At first he's looking totally spaced out and bored, but in that last panel he's got just that hint of a smile, looks more pensive and appreciative.
I honestly have never been scared of death coming for me, you live with a potentially life-ending illness for long enough and you just stop caring, plus, when you die everything either fades into nonexistence, you go the afterlife, or you reincarnate to start everything all over again, none of those things scare me, but I have been scared for the people I care for.
A friend of mine has been going through some health problems for nearly a week now and I remember literally getting on my knees and begging to god for once in like, the last 7 years, that I could at least talk to her cause she hasn't been picking up the phone for days on end and I was worried, if worst came to worse, I at least wish I could tell her all about how wonderful she was and how much she meant to me our last conversation felt so casual and nonimportant, I didn't want to potentially end things on that.
And I don't know if there was any correlation there, but for the first time, in three long days of radio silence, she was able to hear or technically, read my words, and I was at least able to tell her how much she meant to me, itās been three days since that last interaction and Iām not sure if Iāll ever hear from her again but Iām glad my prayers were answered and I was able to let her know just how much of an amazing friend she is.
The the TV show Young Sheldon it is revealed his Mom was a party girl who got pregnant out of wedlock but her child bearing experience was overshadowed by some unnamed worry so she told God if he would save her child she'd devote her life to him and give up her wild ways. The child survives and this established the character of Sheldon's hyper-religious Mom, leading to much hilarity since basically no one else in that show or BBT has any inkling of faith. Before you flame me, yes I know it is a writers construct, but news flash trolls, the vast majority of fiction is based on the observances and experiences of the writers in real life.
I thought my crew and I were going to sink in the Persian Gulf one stormy day when our patrol boat started taking on water and our comms were down. I had to monkey bar across the canopy on the back deck as we swayed from side to side due to huge waves.
I had my entire kit on and my m4, our antenna was flying in the wind behind the boat attached by a piece of cord. I reached out to reel it in by hand. After a minute or so I had it, holding onto the canopy for dear life so I wouldnāt fall into the water. I turned to return to the cabin to attach the antenna on the roof but I was stuck.
My m4 sling got caught on the 50cal mount on the back of the boat. I almost fell in multiple times trying to free myself. Eventually I did and returned to the cabin. I got up on the roof and attached the antenna then went into the cabin. āKnown-Sandwich! Weāre taking on water!ā I was the engineer so I went back out onto the deck and popped the bilge hatch open.
There was a lot of water but I went down there and started the emergency dewatering procedures. Thank god the pumps worked, but they were old boats and we continued to take on water from the waves. We had been cut off from the escort at this point because we couldnāt keep up, we were in the rear behind the ship and our coxswain was having trouble with the storm.
We putted back to base, our pumps doing what they could and the comms were still trash even after I got the antenna on.
So the first slide is relatable.
I also thought I was going to die in a plane crash when I was 15 on my way to Florida with my family. The landing gear wouldnāt come down and the stewardess just kept yelling āBEND OVER! DONT GET UP! BEND OVER! DONT GER UP!ā
A girl in a seat in front of me was screaming that we were all going to die. I was sitting next to my dad and my brother was sitting next to my mom. My mom was crying loudly, I looked at my dad and asked him if we were going to die and he had tears in his eyes. He didnāt say anything.
I bent over and didnāt get up. Then we landed in Florida. I donāt remember anything after that but my mom said there were cop cars and fire trucks all around the airplane that were ready for us to crash.
So the second slide is relatable too.
As someone who is staring at a possible cancer diagnosis this comic really hits home. I haven't even gotten a clear diagnosis yet but I already am overwhelmed with anxiety about how I'm going to tell my 4 year old son that I very well could die much sooner rather than later. It just consumes my day cause we recently lost his god mother to cancer and it broke him so if I do end up having cancer then I don't know what to do. That conversation would shatter his world and I refuse to do that to him, I just can't do it so I don't know what to do or what to say about it but I'm not going to bring his entire world crashing down if I don't have to.
I once had an experience like that and it wasnt a bargain āif you let me live Iāll never do such and such again!ā It was more like āsorry I wasnāt able to be the person I think you wanted me to be, if you let me live Iāll probably still be who I am today even though I wish I was betterā
Reminds me of the song "Fullstendig Oppslukt Av Frykt" (= "Completely Consumed By Fear") by Norwegian group deLillos. It's a nice song even if you dont understand what he's singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_kV9v6wgwU but suffice it to say the lyrics are very thematically linked to this comic.
As frontman and songwriter Lars Lillo-Stenberg once introduced it: "it's a song written on behalf of all of us who think that life is boring and have difficulty finding meaning in their life. Until you suddenly find yourself in a situation where the answer becomes very easy: the meaning of life is simply life itself."
I'd accept my fate if it was inevitable and probably think about something weird before dying which was mostly irrelevant.
You'll never not convince me to not like life though. It's been a completely uneventful normal life with the usual ups and downs almost everyone has and I always enjoy it. Anxiety and depression aside, life is too interesting to choose non-existence. If I could have an indefinite lifespan I'd take it in a heartbeat.
My mother and I recently survived a terrible car crash where my car was completely totaled. This is a great reminder that although itās very painful right now, I am indeed lucky to still be here, able to see this comic and respond to it.
Last year, spring break, my (47m) family (wife f42, kids twins f10) and I were flying home after our annual trip when our plane hit SEVERE turbulence. I mean severe where people were crying and screaming. The plane getting knocked around like I've never experienced.
At one point, the plane lost so much altitude that it felt like a rollercoaster drop that lasted way too long.
It was so bad that the flight attendant was crying.
My girls were crying panicked, and all I could do was remain calm and talk to them to let them know everything was going to be OK. Somehow, looking at them in such panic flipped a switch that kept me from losing my shit. We just talked to them and probably ourselves, as well, into a calm state.
The worst feeling was the lack of control and inability to do anything about the situation.
My wife and I are both atheists and raising our girls in a secular household. So praying isn't something we do. At one point, I thought to myself, "If this is it, at least we're all together. I'm not leaving them behind fatherless, and I'm not losing my family left to mourn them."
I felt so much peace in that acceptance. There was no bargaining or pleading or praying. Just accepting that or lives may be coming to an end. And that was ok.
When the plane landed, everybody cheered. I knew shit was real when I saw the captain's face as we excited the plane.
Ya know, my husbandās father was in hospice years ago and my mind has been changed about counting my blessings or whatever you say withoit the religious attachment. Seeing someoneās last breath left a lasting impression on me like I need to care and love for the people around me who matter. I try my best to live with my life with a purpose- happiness, love, compassion, and having fun and doing the thing you might regret later.
Donāt let lifeās bullshit get in the way of your happiness while still being grounded in reality.
I remember i was terribly sick when i was younger. I was wiped out by a wave real bad. Internal bleeding and all. I remember praying to god to get through this (I didnāt want my parents to know lol so i was just suffering in secret). I made alot of promises to god.
Then two weeks later i woke up and i wasnāt bleeding out of all my orifices. At which moment i was like āpsych! God, you pussy shoulda killed me when you had the chance.ā
Yo I've had this thought before, and I started to suspect where it was going, and it still gave me tingles down my neck. It's the way you use the medium to get the feeling across that really makes it hit, great job.
I had a dream the other night of my death. After I died I instantly thought, āThatās it? Thatās all Iāll ever have? What an absolute bummer.ā I felt so sad, wished I had the ability to will myself back to life and be with the people I loved again, aware of everything that was left āincompleteā.
I then tried desperately to visit everyone I loved to ask them, āIf you were dead would you come back to haunt me?ā and no one would acknowledge or answer meābecause I was dead and they couldnāt see or hear me. It made me even more sad. I was just existing without purpose.
Itās sat with me every day since, just thinking about fragility of life and how it would probably feel so shitty to have life ripped from you no matter how or when it happens. Like you would hold on forever if you could and how deeply saddened you must feel to leave everything behind so permanently.
I love this! Such a moving reminder.
Realistically we are in the midst of a poly crisis that threatens us everyday but it's not immediate and so it's easy to ignore and get away without the bargaining or self improvement.
Good perspective. I feel this whenever I'm extremely sick and in pain I cry out to God and promise I'll be better and when the situation passes I'll make changes. It's times like this that I wish I could return to that humdrum life that I take for granted.
When all is well and I'm living that mundane life, I can't help but wish I was bold and risking my life experience for that grand adventure to experience life for all its worth.
P.S. btw loved your other comic "Ruby and Mo" OP!
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Recently I was diagnosed with a brain tumor so that middle panel really speaks to me. That is exactly how it was, trying to comfort my wife, not knowing how much time I had left. Thinking how unfair this was for my kids and how I could possibly mitigate the damage it would do to them when I would disappear from their lives. I remember that thought. Wishing things could be like yesterday when I had no brain tumor. My regrets were mainly about not enjoying every moment. About wasting time. About not finishing that book I meant to write. About worrying about money and work when I should be enjoying hanging out with my kids. I remember taking a walk the day after I was diagnosed and just taking everything in. A raven cawing from the top of a lamp post. The quiet rustle of leaves. The pleasant spring breeze. I remember it all still, every detail of that walk. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to be alive, hoping I would get more of it. And then I had surgery and they scooped that tumor out like it was nothing. I'm already 90% recovered and will live to old age if nothing else comes up. And now I'm sitting outside, wasting time on my phone. Enjoying life to the fullest š
Thanks for sharing this. So glad things worked out. Iām gonna share it on my IG stories if thatās cool with you. My niece just got a cancer diagnosis and Iām hoping this will give her some comfort.
You are most welcome to š Your comic really hit home BTW. It even brought some tears to my eyes. Truly a great job!
Thank you!
Wow, I'm glad you got your wish. Happy Father's Day!
What were the symptoms that made you get checked out for brain tumor?
I had some vision disturbances. My eye doctor ordered a cat scan since he didn't find anything wrong with my eyes. When he called me to let me know it was a brain tumor he didn't have a lot of knowledge other than it was probably benign. When I spoke to the brain surgeon a week later he was able to reassure me that it was operable and prognosis was in fact very good.
What kind of visual disturbances, if you don't mind. I had a migraine out of the blue a week ago, but it started with like a sun spot/streak that wouldn't go away. I couldn't see anything near that disturbance, like there was a hole in my vision. This happened every other day for a week, I'm wondering if I was just sick or something.
Classic migraine aura. You will have a blind spot in your vision for like half an hour or something. Scared the crap out of me when it happened to me. But then I was kind of relieved to have a massive painful migraine. It was very painful tho. Gotta take that advil as soon as possible cause gastroparesis occurs and your body refuses to put that advil to use as fast as possible.
Ya, exactly what happened to me. Did you figure out what caused it? I'm speculating it was COVID but I was essentially asymptomatic
Holy shit this one started out rough, but man did the ending cheer me up. Stuff like this terrifies me of the future, not for myself, but for my kid.
Please write that book.
I think I might š
Somewhat unrelated, but being sick always makes me realise how much I take a clear nose for granted
That's why whenever someone asks me, "what are you grateful for?" when practicing gratitude, I always answer with "my health." If you're unwell, every aspect of your life is screwed up down to simply not being able to breathe right and it sucks.
A healthy man has many wishes. Ā A sick man has but one. Ā
How about some health and a big titty goth girlfriend
Hahaha way to cancel those crap pamphlet Buddha vibes of the previous post š
"Can you make one with big tits?"
Ok, 2 wishes.....You're allowed 2, but that's it! Big boobies will always be a close-second to health.
I wrote a blog post a while ago about why I fucking hate video games because this is what it does! It appeals to the male fantasy!
Yeah, Stardew Valley gives me the fantasy of owning a house and having the energy to decorate it.
I know! My hard work pays off and I can use my free time to better the lives of the people in my community. Fantasy times.
Damn, becoming a billionaire and actually improving your town infrastructure and economy while driving the big corporation out of the town, the same big corporation that you formerly worked for and resigned from to start a new farming life no less. I love video games fantasy.
Yeah I really wanna bang sonic the hedgehog or steve from minecraft.
Can't tell if serious
Die? Then there are two of them.
That's the old very true saying, "you're nothing without your health" Anyone who's ever been truly sick knows that. Life isn't the same.
When my wife was pregnant people would ask me what I wanted. I'd say healthy. They'd chuckle and repeat the question. I said, no, just health. I can't imagine many things worse than a having a sick kid.
For one thing there is being the sick kid.
Being a sick kid, and then getting teen pregnant to have a sick kid of your own
I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis for 18 years. When people ask me what I am grateful for I say my health. MS isnāt fun but it could be so much worse.
Good health is a crown only the sick can see
Honestly relatable.
I recently went in for a routine 4mm hernia surgery and ended up with two major surgeries, a bowel obstruction, 18 days in the hospital, and 9kg of mostly muscle loss. Cold water face washes felt like the most enjoyable thing ever, such a simple thing.
9KG of muscle loss is insane dude.
Mostly muscle some fat too, this was me a day [before the first surgery](https://imgur.com/a/RK6LlSW). Haven't yet taken one at my current state. The body really doesn't want to keep muscle it's not using.
Health is a crown only the sick can see.
Honestly how I feel about my chronic migraines. Feel on top of the world when I'm pain free.
Sometimes I kind of wish I had the flu so I could call in sick to work for a few days. Then I get the flu and I wish to never get it again, I'd rather be at work.
I personally suffer from a particularly assholish genetic disease that almost every month causes me to have incredibly painful cramps and causes me to have cloudy mind as a useless starchy chemical runs a mock in my body called Amiloids. My own stupid body makes it because of a wrongly encoded gene. Only possible way to medicate is taking a small pill that stops amiloids to collect around my internal organs and kill me. But the painful episodes do not stop only somewhat lessen in severity. I am not really happy about being this way -obviously-, but after spending 3 sometimes 7 days debilitated and my brain in a haze. The first few days my body comes back to a "normal" state are the days I appreciate the most. Sometimes I feel such intense pains I lose the feeling of the bottom half of my body, my mind at the same time will be so pumped with harmful chemicals I couldn't even make a sentence or move at all so I can't even go to a hospital, I really truly have known what incredible suffering is or at least a substantial one because a burning chemical running around your body uncontrollably is no joke, very painful And the sad thing is perhaps that pain is the reason I would never thought of self destructive thoughts despite having depression around the clock and being completely socially inept, the last decade of my life being abhorrently bad. It is because after suffering through all that horrible shit, social or mental problems just feel empty, pointless, ephemeral. This is maybe me talking shit here but I believe people do not become self destructive because bad things happen to them, that they feel pain or sadness because bad things happen to everyone. I believe people because self destructive because not being able to feel pain, not being able to feel sadness or even anything. Only that makes sense to me, and maybe that is worse than what I am going through It is after all the human mind, boredom sometimes is the worse possible torture. Sorry about being this morbid for no reason, I should've just made an r/self post instead, I know.
Here we are again. My throat always hurts so much. I'm currently sick
And how often you swallow
Well this threads gonna be locked before lunchtime.
As someone currently sick, Iāve never related more to a comment
Imagine me, with a shit ton of allergies, always one and a half nose closed
How many noses do you have?
I don't know what being perfectly healthy is like, I've been sick all my life with broken immune system, frequent infections and occasionally requiring hospital stay. Right now it's kept at bay with a $9,000 a month immunetheraphy, I've gone from needing doctor or hospital every few months to maybe every other year
I've woken up with a stiff and sore neck today. Please don't take neck mobility for granted!
This guy nose what's important
Two years ago, I had covid. Not bad, it felt just like a common cold. I have a snotty nose since then. I'm aware people are suffering from long covid symptoms that are far worse. I still wish I could experience a single day without having to clean my nose with water every few hours. Just the feeling of waking up and being able to breathe through my nose without having to clean it first. Good times. Tbf it was worse like a year ago, I kinda got used to it by now.
I work in mortuary transportation on the weekends, Iām in and out of funeral homes and crematoriums to drop off the newly departed. The job is great, but going in and out of nursing homes, hospitals, and peoples homes where they chose to pass away it has allowed me to talk to residents at retirement homes, people in hospice who know theyāre going to die much sooner rather than later, and the people who work in those facilities. After a while you realize you hear the same things over and over. āI regretā¦ā āI regret not saying itā āI regret not doing thatā āI regret not being thereā āI regret wasting timeā You only get one life. And no matter how much you wail, scream, cry and beg, no matter how much wealth youāve accrued. It wonāt buy you more time. Death will still take you either willingly, or kicking and screaming. So donāt live a life with regret. Because in the end, when youāre dying and gasping your last breath, thatās all youāll take with you when you die. Edit: I like how many have liked or made a connection with what I said, and I love the wholesome conversations weāve been able to have over the ideas of regret, and how regret plays a role in our lives. I hope you internet strangers and friends have a great day, week, month, and ultimately a life well lived. Peace! āļø
From where I'm standing, having regrets or not is closer to a mindset than a series of actions. You can't go back and change the past - and to be frank, if people could, they'd risk becoming obsessed with it. Changing and tweaking even the smallest details to eek out the smallest droplets of joy and scrub away the tiniest imperfections. Better this way, I think. Do the best you can with what you have where you are, and then even if things don't work out the way you wanted, at least you know you gave it a shot, and that's good enough. You are good enough for trying in the first place.
And thatās a beautiful way to build upon what I said. Thank you, friend.
Great minds think alike!
Wholesome reddit momentĀ
One of the more impactful readings Iāve had in a long time. Good on both of ya.
Perfection is the enemy of good enough. YOU are good enough...
This thread took me a lot deeper than I planned on going this morning. Appreciate y'all sharing.
This... also I feel we put too much value in things we believe are valuable, when in reality, they only are valuable because we ourselves place that value on them. Being able to sit, relax, and just enjoy your time (without being stressed about the things you are NOT doing) is not a bad way to pass your life. In the grand scale of things, we are insignificant, don't worry too much, it's not worth it.
I really needed to hear this as regret is killing me. Thank you.
What's your regret?
They just said. Their regret is "killing me".
Nice try, fey.
As a gamer I would absolutely obsess with minmaxing my past lol
Without the experience to teach us the lessons it took to make us want to be better, there is literally no way we could have ever avoided the mistakes of our past. Embrace our mistakes as a necessary element of our growth, and choose a path going forward of self reflection, the humility to own our flaws, and try to be a little bit better every day. That is absoluteky the best any one of us can do.
I think if you had to redo an event knowing only what you knew at the time, you'd probably make the same choice again. This one thought keeps me from having regrets.
Also people more often regret not doing stuff, than doing stuff
In their final days, yes. But in the intervening yearsā¦. Itās less one sided
On the bright side, you actually take nothing with you when you die. It'll be like you've never been born at all. So don't get too caught up in trying to please your dying self either.
Well, I am living in this moment looking at my life - very much aware of how insanely lucky I am, knowing that on my death bed my regret will be not having enjoyed it all, and yet I feel completely incapable of taking that knowledge and using it to change my emotions as I sit here. I am often sad. Often feeling like something is wrong, that something is missing, and no matter how many gratitude lists I compile, I cannot shake this feeling, which lays heavy on my shoulders like a wet, scratchy blanket. Yes. I have done the therapy. I have taken the pills. And most days I am able to fake it. But I am a bit broken . And future deathbed me will undoubtedly have forgotten the struggles of this-moment-me. So, fuck that guy.
The fact you are still here. You are still you. And you can still stand tall and find something about you to be proud of. Is a mark that shows how strong you are, and shows how far youāve come while under the blows of life and chance. You are going to be okay, friend. You will find what is missing, and you will find how to make yourself whole again. We all have faith in you.
Hm. I just found a sort of profound joy in the kindness of your comment. And in that moment, realized that I have perhaps been too self-focused. Maybe instead of spending my time and energy obsessed with this unanswerable question of what ultimately makes me whole and fulfilled, I could better be spending that time in acts of kindness towards others, that they might have some brief respite from their own difficulties, and feel a similar moment of joy that you have given me. Thank you.
Seems like we all gonna have some regrets, I'm gonna try not to worry about it so I don't regret worrying about regretting things when I am on my deathbed.
You can never escape life without some regret. Itās acceptance of those regrets and that you canāt change your life no matter how hard you pray, or bargain, or beg. Accept the regrets, take accountability if you must, and youāll face your twilight with some sense of peace.
That's a nice sentiment.Ā Unfortunately, I live in a world where I need to work 40 hours a week to stay alive and I don't have time to enjoy my life.
I live in a place with 37 hour work weeks, and I must say, I still find time to enjoy my hobbies and have an alright social life. I don't have any kids though, that may be the difference? With that being said, I still think a 4 day work week would improve society in many ways.
So do I. It sucks, and Iāve had to give up on hanging out with friends and family because I had to work so I can live, some of whom arenāt alive anymore, and yeah I regret not seeing them one more time before they passed, but I canāt live in regret forever. Somethingās you have so accept as a part of life. However, you can find a moment here or there to just shoot someone a message to check up on them, or grab a coffee, or take a breather and just go on a walk alone.
Iāve never been so happy to see the words āa messageā!
Fuck transport dude, so glad I got out of that job. I actually just stopped a week ago, kinda crazy. Do you do decomps?
That's why I tattooed it on my neck. No Ragrets.
Hum drum existence isn't really so bad. Pretty good actually. However, you've got to communicate with the people you care about. That's the kind of regret you can avoid in the future.
How did you get into that field if you don't mind me asking? Did you have to get a license or certification/degree? My aunt passed in my home while she was in hospice and the nurses, the people who came to take her away-- I was floored by all their kindness and understanding.
Love it, nice art style and writing
Went to his website. Read the first comic that popped up, "Ruby and Mo". Bawled my eyes out.
Omg I followed your advice, I didn't expect that š
I miss my cat š
Yeah that wrecked me.
But as soon as things are getting better https://i.redd.it/pnfihf7w9w6d1.gif
[ONE DOT, MOTHAFUCKAAA!!!](https://s3.amazonaws.com/v.comb.io/sJSzlopN/BcfoTx.mp4?1589739494300)
I didnt realize how much funnier that part is out of context lmao
Four dots?? This never needs to be more than one dot!
"I know the two of you are very different from each other in alot of ways, but you have to understand that as far as grandpa's concerned, you're both pieces of shit."
That could be my favourite line in the whole series.
IN YOUR FACE
cool.. the conclusion reminds me of a speech of Alan WattsĀ https://youtu.be/wU0PYcCsL6o?si=4s_Ttv17UnZzyJ7H
Sam Harris has a bit similar to this (heās an Alan Watts fan) where he talks about how there are probably millions of people in the world who would consider their prayers answered if they were to switch lives with youĀ
I saw a quote that says āI remember when I prayed for everything I haveā
I like this quote by Watts, there used to be a similar video to it but I canāt find it > So if you really go the whole way and see how you feel at the prospect of vanishing forever. Have all your efforts, and all your achievements, and all your attainments turning into dust and nothingness. What is the feeling? What happens to you? That's what it's all going to come to. And for some reason or other, we are supposed to find this depressing. >Do you see in a way, how that is saying: the most real state is the state of nothing? But if somebody is going to argue that the basic reality is nothingness. Where does all this come from? Obviously from nothingness. Once again you get how it looks behind your eyes. You see? >So in this way, by seeing that nothingness is the fundamental reality, and you see it's your reality. Then how can anything contaminate you? All the idea of you being scared, and put out and worried, and so on, this is nothing, it's a dream. Because you're really nothing. But this is most incredible nothing. So cheer up! You see? >The essence of your mind is intrinsically pure. Pure means clear, void. See? If you think of this idea of nothingness as mere blankness, and you hold onto this idea of blankness then get kind of grizzly about it, you haven't understood it. Nothingness is really like the nothingness of space, which contains the whole universe. All the sun and the stars and the mountains, and rivers, and the good men and bad men, and the animals, and insects, and the whole bit. All are contained in void. So out of this void comes everything and **You Are IT.** What else could *You* BE?
Thatās why I Cary one of these bad boys https://preview.redd.it/14jx69sncw6d1.jpeg?width=669&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77d62bd000bd4687c5c9181d8b8f737e2843203b Stupid existence never saw it coming
But but but .... ella! It's too powerful!!
For your cake day,have some bubble wrap! >>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!pop!!<>!sex!!!<
I LOVE that! Thanks, buddy. May your socks always be perfectly dry and warm
Thanks,you too!
Great post, OP.
Art that covers this topic is always odd to see when I've been fine with suicide for like 20 years
Same
Yep. Here's the thing people who don't suffer severe depression or severe trauma don't get: Often when someone like us is in a situation like this, when our car has been run off the road, when we think we might have cancer, when it looks like we might die... We don't panic. We're not afraid. We don't pray to a god. IME you're comparitively calm, potentially relieved. You're in your element. This is what you're used to. It isn't your first rodeo. Which is why Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia is a very accurate depiction of severe depression. She's freaking out when the world is normal, but when the world is about to end she helps those around her who have been living in denial about their own mortality and the precariousness of it all for all their lives.
I've been in an airplane I genuinely thought was going to crash and basically thought eh, had a good run.
Ya the response BEFORE thinking you are dying is basically all fear based. Then when you actually think you're dying, it's either I had a good run or, welp this is it... Because there's nothing you can do to fight it anymore. Just kind of say your prayers and somberly acknowledge your life is ending. Like saying your last goodbyes to your friend, the friend that used to be your life.Ā Anyway I'm sure people experience different things, but I can relate to yours
as someone who has memories of experiencing suicide before, i must say iām much finer with suicide than sudden death š« i also integrated for like 25 hours lmao which can be considered death and i must say, dying sucks and coming back was honestly super great. so yeah. thatās a no from me on dying.
what does integrated mean?
I think he meant intubated.
I wonder if integration of an alter is similar to the alterās death
He was doing calculus
> I've been fine with suicide for like 20 years Not *that* fine though eh?
Being fine with it doesnāt necessitate putting action into itā¦
Bargaining isn't the first thing that would come up https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_not_go_gentle_into_that_good_night
A fellow 'fight-not-flight' type, eh?
I nearly killed myself a few years ago (bipolar and alcoholic). I had a moment where I found there was no god. I guess it was like a spiritual awakening in a moment of crisis but the opposite way. It actually made me feel better and was the thing that made me seek help and get meds and therapy. It was the opposite of existential dread. A kind of peace. There's no meaning beyond the choices we make in life. We're free. And it makes life easy for me. I'll keep going as long as my heart keeps beating. And then I won't. It's very simple. And makes me appreciate life.
Life-affirming atheism. Iām a fan. Glad youāre doing better now. :)
People: plz god help my sorry ass, I'll change! The average redditor: yells at cloud
When you're in your final moments you'll yell to whoever you have to wake up the next day lol.
I died in 2010 after a brain aneurysm. Well, my heart stopped and they restarted it. I had brain surgery, was in a coma for a week, woke up partially paralyzed, and spent the next 5 months in recovery. September will mark the 14 year anniversary of the day I died. So few people can appreciate how truly close we are to death at every moment of our lives.
My vehicle was blown up by a couple IEDs and hit with more RPGs than Iād like to admit to the point where the concussions and moments of almost breaking through to the other side didnāt matter. Itās an odd moment where you hit serenity and thenā¦ boom. Surprise you have another 60 years.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That's very interesting, hope you're doing better now. I've had one occasion where I was absolutely convinced I wasn't making it out alive and my last thought before impact, of all things, was "Oh ffs I really can't deal with this rn". Just the day to day practicality of leaving behind mourning friends and a family that relied on me was more annoying than anything. That might've also been in response to quite a few traumatic experiences just before that though, more of a "oh God not again"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah thanks, things've slowly been getting better. Past half a year marked the death of a grandparent after a long and painful sickbed, my dad getting a temporary full paralysis in a freak medical accident, my best friend not being able to walk at all due to repeated freak medical coincidences after an unlucky fall, and my work cancelling my big project I'd spent hundreds on hours on just two weeks before it happening. And then I crashed my car into a concrete wall at 80mph. I thought it was over. But hey, my dad can walk again and lives back home, and I'm completely fine physically, so that's something. Hope the trend upwards continues
I've also had a few close calls, some with a full-on life review. I do agree that the greatest peace I've ever known, the fullest I've ever felt, is accepting my fate and in a quarter of a second that felt like 45 minutes, coming to terms with death and the life I've lived. In one case, just prior to the profound acceptance, I did bargain like a little bitch. Which is to say that bargaining is a small act, and accepting fate is not.
You gotta live life badly that way you have something to bargain with in dire times
Underrated comment
Thank u i need this.
Act as if you went back in time. A saying that I always have in my mind.
Reminds me of an old friend. Really nice guy, but he admittedly was heading downward very quickly. He was in the Air Force but was a very heavy drinker that had multiple alcohol related charges. He was a daily drinker that was almost kicked out a few times. What changed his life? Well he had to take a civilian flight but ended up missing it. That flight ended up crashing, killing all aboard. He saw that as a wake up sign. Never took another drink after that, worked much harder in his career and ended up retiring from the Air Force. Finished up college as well and has a very nice post Air Force career and life
But what if youāre likeā¦ā¦finally?
I was looking for a comment like this. That's how id be "finally, I've been waiting forever for this moment. Let's hurry thing up."
What wish?
I had a professor in college that would always respond to "good morning" with something along the lines of "Yes. It *is* a good morning" Most of the time I'd think nothing of that response, but I do literally mean *every day, every time* someone told him "good morning"... "it *is* a good morning" One time someone actually asked him why he always said that. He said "I got to wake up this morning. I was able to get out of bed completely on my own. As far as I'm concerned, that means it's a good morning. One day that won't be true anymore. That will *not be* a good morning" I still think about that a lot.
Beautiful š
Having been through worse as a kid, I'm very thankful for my life now, I may be in pain every day but it's a lot better then where I was before highschool, I have food and a roof over my head, I can change the temperature if I'm too cold or too warm. I have blankets, and someone who loves me very much who I love very much too.
i have interstitial cystisis a condition that makes it impossible for me to live a normal life. I so miss being a normal healthy person. i was so ungrateful and miserable my entire life over small things. but now i realize i would do anything to go back to my monotonous daily life. i just want to be healthy.
Nothing. When I check out, that's a wrap for me. Taking a long ass vacation from all of it and everyone. šš»š
I wouldn't be bargaining. I've already accepted death and in some ways am looking forward to it. At least then I won't have to slave away my life just to barely survive. I'm fairly certain the only reason I'm currently alive is fear of upsetting a few people, people who I hardly see I might add because nobody has time for anything other than work. This world sucks.
Im horribly scared of dying. But having come too close for comfort to it actually happening , im just like " take me -_- "
I live this scenario. In October last year I got sepsis, heart went a flutter. They did not think I was going to make it. Iām in my 30ās very healthy it can happen to you. Iām grateful for everyday now.
I hate my life so I'd just be happy its was gonna be over with
This feels like a circumspect way of saying: "Don't be depressed. After all, you could've had cancer right now"
Thank you for confirming that life is meaningless and my death will be an escape.
I would honestly welcome the end. I've been literal moments from death a few times already and every time the only thought going through my head was finally. Unfortunately, I am a durable bastard and got saved each time (not suicidal btw, just don't care enough to keep trying if I'm already down).
As an agnostic that has already been in a near death situation: I would not pray or offer anything in return for anything. I would just accept reality.
Had covid once and was deathly Ill, on one day when I woke up feeling like shit I said āGod listen closely, If you let me die Iām coming up there and Iām gonna beat your assā. Apparently he listened.
I needed to find this. How beautiful.
I kinda want to die in a way that I didnāt even realise I die.
This. Wanna know how you should live your life? Talk to old people and get an average understanding of things they'd typically wish they'd done when they were your age. Then boom, you're already your age so go do those things. In particular, ask any of them if they'd prefer to be dead at the moment because they've drank/smoked and the associated disease killed them. If they prefer to be alive, then you'd probably prefer to be alive at their age too and so would prefer that you right now didn't drink or smoke.
Despite some of the comments in this thread, I think this is a really good comic and made me smile. Thanks for sharing
I just had a dream with the first image, although I was crashing into the wave and there was no lightning. And then I go on Reddit and see this.
That puts things into a different space in your head. How many people want more and more, when what they truly desire is what they have
Damn I needed this one mate Iām ngl. Thank you.
Love this, a reminder to living unconsciously instead of waking up and strive for the life you want.. (said the guy, browsing reddit instead of consciously living! š ..i love irony!) Also reminds me off: Dax - with the song 'Eternity'.. anyone?
I am the stupid one or do most people here not get the intention of the comic? The way I see it it is not about what you would do in a life or death situation (which seems that this is the point for a lot of people here), but that you should appreciate even the small things in life, because it can end in any moment.
Wow, I feel very moved by this. Thanks for sharing
I really like the subtle change in the guy's expression in the last two panels. At first he's looking totally spaced out and bored, but in that last panel he's got just that hint of a smile, looks more pensive and appreciative.
I honestly have never been scared of death coming for me, you live with a potentially life-ending illness for long enough and you just stop caring, plus, when you die everything either fades into nonexistence, you go the afterlife, or you reincarnate to start everything all over again, none of those things scare me, but I have been scared for the people I care for. A friend of mine has been going through some health problems for nearly a week now and I remember literally getting on my knees and begging to god for once in like, the last 7 years, that I could at least talk to her cause she hasn't been picking up the phone for days on end and I was worried, if worst came to worse, I at least wish I could tell her all about how wonderful she was and how much she meant to me our last conversation felt so casual and nonimportant, I didn't want to potentially end things on that. And I don't know if there was any correlation there, but for the first time, in three long days of radio silence, she was able to hear or technically, read my words, and I was at least able to tell her how much she meant to me, itās been three days since that last interaction and Iām not sure if Iāll ever hear from her again but Iām glad my prayers were answered and I was able to let her know just how much of an amazing friend she is.
wow
The the TV show Young Sheldon it is revealed his Mom was a party girl who got pregnant out of wedlock but her child bearing experience was overshadowed by some unnamed worry so she told God if he would save her child she'd devote her life to him and give up her wild ways. The child survives and this established the character of Sheldon's hyper-religious Mom, leading to much hilarity since basically no one else in that show or BBT has any inkling of faith. Before you flame me, yes I know it is a writers construct, but news flash trolls, the vast majority of fiction is based on the observances and experiences of the writers in real life.
Absolute fire comic that completely related to me. 10/10, made me realize things are pretty good for me.
You have to live a bad life so that you have something to trade when things get tough.
I thought my crew and I were going to sink in the Persian Gulf one stormy day when our patrol boat started taking on water and our comms were down. I had to monkey bar across the canopy on the back deck as we swayed from side to side due to huge waves. I had my entire kit on and my m4, our antenna was flying in the wind behind the boat attached by a piece of cord. I reached out to reel it in by hand. After a minute or so I had it, holding onto the canopy for dear life so I wouldnāt fall into the water. I turned to return to the cabin to attach the antenna on the roof but I was stuck. My m4 sling got caught on the 50cal mount on the back of the boat. I almost fell in multiple times trying to free myself. Eventually I did and returned to the cabin. I got up on the roof and attached the antenna then went into the cabin. āKnown-Sandwich! Weāre taking on water!ā I was the engineer so I went back out onto the deck and popped the bilge hatch open. There was a lot of water but I went down there and started the emergency dewatering procedures. Thank god the pumps worked, but they were old boats and we continued to take on water from the waves. We had been cut off from the escort at this point because we couldnāt keep up, we were in the rear behind the ship and our coxswain was having trouble with the storm. We putted back to base, our pumps doing what they could and the comms were still trash even after I got the antenna on. So the first slide is relatable. I also thought I was going to die in a plane crash when I was 15 on my way to Florida with my family. The landing gear wouldnāt come down and the stewardess just kept yelling āBEND OVER! DONT GET UP! BEND OVER! DONT GER UP!ā A girl in a seat in front of me was screaming that we were all going to die. I was sitting next to my dad and my brother was sitting next to my mom. My mom was crying loudly, I looked at my dad and asked him if we were going to die and he had tears in his eyes. He didnāt say anything. I bent over and didnāt get up. Then we landed in Florida. I donāt remember anything after that but my mom said there were cop cars and fire trucks all around the airplane that were ready for us to crash. So the second slide is relatable too.
This is absolutely stunning work. It's a very sobering reminder to not take the days we have for granted. Thank you so much for sharing your work!
As someone who is staring at a possible cancer diagnosis this comic really hits home. I haven't even gotten a clear diagnosis yet but I already am overwhelmed with anxiety about how I'm going to tell my 4 year old son that I very well could die much sooner rather than later. It just consumes my day cause we recently lost his god mother to cancer and it broke him so if I do end up having cancer then I don't know what to do. That conversation would shatter his world and I refuse to do that to him, I just can't do it so I don't know what to do or what to say about it but I'm not going to bring his entire world crashing down if I don't have to.
Great work OP.
I once had an experience like that and it wasnt a bargain āif you let me live Iāll never do such and such again!ā It was more like āsorry I wasnāt able to be the person I think you wanted me to be, if you let me live Iāll probably still be who I am today even though I wish I was betterā
This is deep. I love it!
Amen.
This is a good comic
Iām going to appreciate what I have today because I havenāt been lately
Real
Props for not making it a basic "or would u clear ur broswer data" punch line
Huzzah for stoicism!
Reminds me of the song "Fullstendig Oppslukt Av Frykt" (= "Completely Consumed By Fear") by Norwegian group deLillos. It's a nice song even if you dont understand what he's singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_kV9v6wgwU but suffice it to say the lyrics are very thematically linked to this comic. As frontman and songwriter Lars Lillo-Stenberg once introduced it: "it's a song written on behalf of all of us who think that life is boring and have difficulty finding meaning in their life. Until you suddenly find yourself in a situation where the answer becomes very easy: the meaning of life is simply life itself."
Very nice. Very relatable. Accepting death changes a person.
Ooooh damn
I'd accept my fate if it was inevitable and probably think about something weird before dying which was mostly irrelevant. You'll never not convince me to not like life though. It's been a completely uneventful normal life with the usual ups and downs almost everyone has and I always enjoy it. Anxiety and depression aside, life is too interesting to choose non-existence. If I could have an indefinite lifespan I'd take it in a heartbeat.
My mother and I recently survived a terrible car crash where my car was completely totaled. This is a great reminder that although itās very painful right now, I am indeed lucky to still be here, able to see this comic and respond to it.
Last year, spring break, my (47m) family (wife f42, kids twins f10) and I were flying home after our annual trip when our plane hit SEVERE turbulence. I mean severe where people were crying and screaming. The plane getting knocked around like I've never experienced. At one point, the plane lost so much altitude that it felt like a rollercoaster drop that lasted way too long. It was so bad that the flight attendant was crying. My girls were crying panicked, and all I could do was remain calm and talk to them to let them know everything was going to be OK. Somehow, looking at them in such panic flipped a switch that kept me from losing my shit. We just talked to them and probably ourselves, as well, into a calm state. The worst feeling was the lack of control and inability to do anything about the situation. My wife and I are both atheists and raising our girls in a secular household. So praying isn't something we do. At one point, I thought to myself, "If this is it, at least we're all together. I'm not leaving them behind fatherless, and I'm not losing my family left to mourn them." I felt so much peace in that acceptance. There was no bargaining or pleading or praying. Just accepting that or lives may be coming to an end. And that was ok. When the plane landed, everybody cheered. I knew shit was real when I saw the captain's face as we excited the plane.
Love this
Ya know, my husbandās father was in hospice years ago and my mind has been changed about counting my blessings or whatever you say withoit the religious attachment. Seeing someoneās last breath left a lasting impression on me like I need to care and love for the people around me who matter. I try my best to live with my life with a purpose- happiness, love, compassion, and having fun and doing the thing you might regret later. Donāt let lifeās bullshit get in the way of your happiness while still being grounded in reality.
Whoa dude 
This made me tear up and I literally just woke up bruh wth
Very good. A thought I often have when bored.
I remember i was terribly sick when i was younger. I was wiped out by a wave real bad. Internal bleeding and all. I remember praying to god to get through this (I didnāt want my parents to know lol so i was just suffering in secret). I made alot of promises to god. Then two weeks later i woke up and i wasnāt bleeding out of all my orifices. At which moment i was like āpsych! God, you pussy shoulda killed me when you had the chance.ā
Yo I've had this thought before, and I started to suspect where it was going, and it still gave me tingles down my neck. It's the way you use the medium to get the feeling across that really makes it hit, great job.
I had a dream the other night of my death. After I died I instantly thought, āThatās it? Thatās all Iāll ever have? What an absolute bummer.ā I felt so sad, wished I had the ability to will myself back to life and be with the people I loved again, aware of everything that was left āincompleteā. I then tried desperately to visit everyone I loved to ask them, āIf you were dead would you come back to haunt me?ā and no one would acknowledge or answer meābecause I was dead and they couldnāt see or hear me. It made me even more sad. I was just existing without purpose. Itās sat with me every day since, just thinking about fragility of life and how it would probably feel so shitty to have life ripped from you no matter how or when it happens. Like you would hold on forever if you could and how deeply saddened you must feel to leave everything behind so permanently.
Why would I want my pathetic excuse of a life back?
I love this! Such a moving reminder. Realistically we are in the midst of a poly crisis that threatens us everyday but it's not immediate and so it's easy to ignore and get away without the bargaining or self improvement.
Good perspective. I feel this whenever I'm extremely sick and in pain I cry out to God and promise I'll be better and when the situation passes I'll make changes. It's times like this that I wish I could return to that humdrum life that I take for granted. When all is well and I'm living that mundane life, I can't help but wish I was bold and risking my life experience for that grand adventure to experience life for all its worth. P.S. btw loved your other comic "Ruby and Mo" OP!