So if you were dying, who would you tell? Do you really want everyone to know that you will be dying or do you just want to spend time with everyone as you normally would? It is not like I would go down the street and just be like, “Hi! I’m dying!”. But where do you draw the line? Would you tell everyone who you know, announce it on facebook, twitter, your blog, or whatever else?
I am not sure who I would tell that I am dying, if I actually was. Of course immediate family would need to know. But what about more distant family and friends? Would you rather just stop by, have a good time like how you are used to, or be burdened with constantly explaining to everyone. Most things that kill you are obvious, but I am kind of going under the assumption that I would just cease to exist at the end of October for the theme. Not that I would disappear, but that I am perfectly capable of doing what I do now throughout this theoretical experience. So therefore, I would not appear to be any different despite the fact that I am dying. So since it is not obvious, back to the question, who do you tell?
I honestly think the less people who would know the better. The people who need to know can, but I would rather enjoy my time with everyone as if it were just another day. I wouldn’t want to spend my time rehashing the diagnosis that I received. I just want me to be me and my friends and family to be the friends and family I know. But this opens up a different set of a can of worms. If you know you are dying and somehow you end up if an argument with someone, would you then tell them? I wouldn’t want anyone to feel a sense of regret that the last words between us were bitter. But how does one go about not telling if there is an argument? It is not like I have anyone I think I would argue with on a regular basis, but it is a fact that it can happen and would it just be safer to tell everyone so everyone can choose their last words carefully?
What would you do? Who would you tell if you were theoretically dying at the end of this month?
Photo Credit: Master isolated images / freedigitalphotos.net
What an interesting hypothetical. I think I would probably lean towards telling everyone so that people could interact with me in whatever way felt most natural/needed for them. That being said, I imagine I would ruthlessly prioritize my time to only being with my family and closest friends, so I’m not even sure I’d be spending much time anywhere else.
It is definitely interesting to see how people would decide who to tell! I am not sure I would tell everyone if it wasn’t something obvious, but everyone you would want to see in the short period of time is someone who you would probably want to know.
I know one thing for sure. Don’t tell anyone you owe money to!
Haha, you might want to hit them up for another 5 bucks! It not like it would KILL them!
I would tell my immediate family and their would be certain people I’d have to tell like my employer to get things in order. I don’t think I would want to tell everyone because I would want to change how I would interact with them over my final days.
Hey Brian,
That is kind of what I was getting at… telling people will change their interaction with you, is that really what you want? Or do you want it to be how you normally would spend time?
Interesting, I’d probably only tell people that’s very close to me. I don’t need to “see” everyone I know before the big “due” day. Need to have some time to do other things.
Yes, other things would be key! I haven’t even discussed bucket list travel plans yet…