MAY 21 — In the past few days, two famous folks (one very famous, one relatively) have announced they have cancer (interestingly enough it’s the same form i.e. prostate cancer).
On May 16, former United States President Joe Biden, 82, announced he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
A few days later Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, told everyone on his livestream that he too has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has also metastasized to his bones. Adams, 67, said his life expectancy is “maybe this summer”.
Can’t deny I feel more than a little sad.
For many years I’ve been an occasional listener to Adams’ livestream, known as Coffee With Scott Adams.
I’ve found his thoughts on politics and US culture insightful and humorous. I’ve also read a few of his books, which focuses on corporate life, learning through failure and so on. I even reviewed the latest one on mind-hacking, Reframe Your Brain, last year.
Anyway, two things Adams said in the latest livestream, really stood out.
In line with his mind-hacking vibe, he said that without death, life has no meaning.
It is our limitations that render our lives meaningful. The knowledge that we won’t be in this world forever makes every moment that much more precious.
Analogously, it’s like knowing you only have two hours before your spouse flies off for an overseas trip. This makes every one of those 120 minutes in the airport coffee shop truly treasurable.
As I lost my wife a year ago, I completely feel this.
Every day since the funeral I’ve missed my wife and I think about those last few days she was with us. Those last few meals outside, that last plant she bought, that final movie she watched (it was Twisters). Those few days, retroactively, take on a cherished significance beyond words.
As Adams reminds us, we shouldn’t wait until a cancer diagnosis or a sudden death before treating every day as if it’s our last.
Grand Master Oogway of Kungfu Panda fame, did explain that, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”
Yet how many of us live as if today is a generous endowment, a wonderful gift? Why do many of us still fret and worry and fuss 24/7 over trivial things?
I want to end with something Adams said that has gone viral. That last line (deliberately repeated by Adams) is, I suppose, one final necessary reminder to live our lives to the full:
“I have to say that everybody has to die, as far as I know. And it’s kind of civilised that you know about how long you have, so you can put your affairs together and make sure you’ve said your goodbyes and done all the things you need to do.
“(This cancer diagnosis) is also kind of good in that it gives you enough time while your brain is still working to wrap things up.
“I can see in the comments that some of you are having a tough time with it, but remember ... nothing lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever.”
Thank you for everything, Scott.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
