Life Depends Upon Death So Learn To Live In The Moment

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, 
Because their words had forked no lightning they 
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright 
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, 
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, 
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight 
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Do not go gentle into that good night, Dylan Thomas.

Hi folks,

Deb enjoying a walk through the beauty of the autumn leaves of a North Carolina Fall

Well, fall is here again, and the leaves are everywhere. This is part of the natural cycle of things, but the leaves don’t tumble from the trees by chance, they are ‘instructed’ to do so by programmed cell death. The cells joining each leaf to a deciduous tree are programmed to fall as the summer comes to a close and we enter the winter period. This is a highly organized process, also known as apoptosis. Did you know that your body is sculpted by cell death? A mass of tissue forms through cell replication, and then in locations where tissue is not needed, say between your fingers, the cells are instructed to die, and there you are, fingers. Sculpted like a statue out of a block of marble. The shape of every multicellular organism, and the very organs of which they are comprised, is brought into existence through such a dance of life and death on the level of cells, individuals, small groups, and entire populations, including us humans.

The grave of the poet Dylan Thomas

This why it is so important to enjoy today, and to walk through the leaves and marvel at the role death plays in life. This is also a critical aspect of safe exercise for better health, as you accept the effects of aging but don’t give into the process until you are literally forced to do so – don’t go too gently.

-k @FitOldDog