bubbe

The Changes During a Lifetime

It is Tuesday morning when my mother phones me at the office to tell me that an aunt of mine has died during the night. It doesn't surprise me at all since my aunt was ninety-two years old and had been ill for awhile, but it does make me think about the facts of life.

When somebody dies a great void appears, regardless how many memories the person leaves behind. The loss is incomprehensible in many ways and you can't really understand how to cope with the grief.

But the death of a person also makes me think about what the person has experienced during their lifetime. My aunt was born in 1915 and lived through the depression during the 30's, World War II, the murder of JFK and Martin Luther King, the landing on the moon, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the Swedish membership of the European Union. It makes me humble when I think of life and what it might bring. The future surprises me time after time.

I can't avoid thinking about the changes a person can experience during their lifetime. When my aunt was born, they were living far out in the mountains where there were no roads, no electricity, no running water and every day was a struggle to survive. During her lifetime TV took control of our lives and the TV-show "Glamour" became important to her. Is this really progress for mankind? However, she also experienced great progress in saving lives and curing diseases. So in the end there are pros and cons and everything balances.

No one knows what life has in store. We can only accept to face every day with an open mind. But when I think of my aunt I can't help wondering about the changes we might encounter. The change of climate is scary in many ways and still we haven't seen more than the first alarming signs. The changes we might encounter are likely to be much more dramatic and dangerous than the changes my aunt faced during her lifetime, even though those changes were more overwhelming and changed her life more than our lives will be changed. Our lives will probably only be changed marginally but still we ought to be worried!