None Of Us Are Jesus
If you’re a Christian, or were raised a Christian, then today might be important for you. It’s not really too spiritual a day for me, but it’s always nice to spend some time with family, and take stock. The Easter story tells of Jesus rising from the dead. He comes back to life, to save his people. It’s a nice story, but that all it is. To me, it doesn’t really line up with reality. It doesn’t reflect actually human experience. When people die, they’re dead; there’s no way around that.
I only found out yesterday that a girl I’d been chatting to (we met on Tinder) died about a month ago. At the time she’d stopped replying to messages, and I figured she’d lost interest and that was that. We hadn’t known each other that well at all, but we’d been chatting frequently for around 4 weeks. I found out yesterday she was killed. A car hit her and she never recovered. It’s such a weird set of circumstances. On the one hand, we’d not met up in person and didn’t know each other. On the other, I did know her. One day we were talking and the next day she was gone.
The reason I say the Jesus story is unrealistic is because we don’t get second chances. We don’t get to die and then come back. Each of us lives for as long as we’re lucky to and that’s it. None of us get to come back, as much as we’d all want that to happen.
When I got the news yesterday it really did shake me, which is understandable. It’s unbelievable. It’s hard to process. I’ve never really understood how fleeting life is until right now. It can literally be taken at any moment. As sad as the thought of her passing makes me, the realization almost gives me a new appreciation for my own life. It made me realize that there’s no point in holding back on anything, because I may not be here tomorrow.
Holding yourself back on the basis of what other people may think, or because you’re not in the mood, or for whatever reason, isn’t good enough. Some of us don’t get to be here. Some of us are taken far before we’re meant to be. Those of us that remain have a duty to strive to be present, to live, because there are so many who can’t do that.
None of us are Jesus. None of us get to come back. It’s easy to fall into complacency when you believe that there’s always another day. I realised yesterday that there is no guarantee of ‘another day’. There’s only today. Whatever you’re putting off, or half-assing; get it done today. None of us get to come back.
