The Laphroaig gift box, pictured, is the vessel that will hold my ashes when I’ve shuffled off this mortal coil. Its selection suggests a more jocose and casual attitude toward The Great Beyond than I in fact possess. As Woody Allen said, “I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens". When we’re born, we’re unaware of what we’re about to undertake through no fault of our own. We don’t have that luxury when it comes to death, a profoundly difficult element of the human condition. I have two friends going through this very dilemma right now, an acute, challenging phase of existence. There are all manner of thoughts on the hereafter some of which, helpfully, follow hereafter.
© 2024 John Oliver
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