Positive psychology is a field that focuses on the positive aspects of human experience, such as personal fulfillment, happiness, and well-being. It also seeks to develop resilience, a psychological response that helps adapt to life’s difficulties and seek a path forward through challenges. Life stresses can take a toll on individuals, but there are five steps to clarify what the good life means to each person.
Life Worth Living is a captivating and thought-provoking book that delves deep into the fundamental questions of human existence and offers profound insights on what it means to lead a truly fulfilling life. Living a balanced life is one of the highly coveted goals, along with happiness, inner peace, and love. However, in today’s hustle-culture society, balance is more difficult.
Professor of Philosophy Bernard Reginster argues that the key to well-being is not a new meditation routine or a tropical vacation; it’s a willingness to ask tough questions about what defines a life well-lived. Nicky Gumbel’s A Life Worth Living, based on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, is a practical and positive guide to living life to the fullest.
A life worth living is about the small moments that happen day to day, not about how successful you are, how much you have accomplished, or what you have achieved. The importance of reasons for living, the development of plans, goals, and hope for the future is emphasized. By understanding what makes your life worth living, you can create a life filled with meaning, love, happiness, and passion.
📹 Is Life Worth Living? Thoughts of a psychiatrist
What are three things that make life worth living?
A life worth living is measured by three things: unconditional love, mentorship, and presence. Love provides strength for family and friends, mentorship helps people learn from others, and presence is essential for important events. It’s important to ask the right questions about one’s value and whether you’ve accomplished enough or accumulated enough money to leave your children. A life worth living is not about achieving a Nobel Prize or writing a book, but rather about being present and loved. If you feel you’re lacking, you may be measuring the wrong things.
What makes life worth to live?
Life worth living is a crucial question that requires intentional living with meaningful plans, goals, and hope for the future. Meaningful work, love, and play can become a mission to fully realize a life worth living. A 23-year-old U. S. Army Infantry Soldier, Sam, participated in a 12-session course of suicide-focused care, meeting operational criteria for resolving his suicidal risk. Sam was a patient-participant in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), an evidence-based suicide-focused clinical intervention.
The Suicide Prevention Lab at The Catholic University of America is engaged in large RCTs of CAMS across different clinical settings and with different patient populations. SPL members watch dozens of videos each week to evaluate providers’ adherence to CAMS and ascertain overall treatment fidelity.
What is worth dying for in life?
As Christians, we are primarily driven by a supernatural love for God and Jesus Christ, as demonstrated by St. Polycarp who chose martyrdom over repudiation. This question is not theoretical but brutally real. Christians worldwide are facing the choice of Jesus Christ or death, as seen in the murder of 21 migrant workers in Libya by Muslim extremists. The act is barbaric and deeply ingrained in our hearts, as we fear betrayal in the same way. The martyrs, both ancient and modern, frighten us as much as they inspire us.
This fear may be a reflection of the biblical principle that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and fear of martyrdom is the beginning of an honest appraisal of our spiritual mediocrity. The question is whether we are truly willing to do the same and how we must live in a way that proves it.
What is the thing that makes life worth living?
Life is worth living because it allows us to experience perfect moments and contemplate them like jewels. There are various genres of books that make life worth living, including art, biography, business, children’s, Christian, classics, comics, cookbooks, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, fiction, music, mystery, nonfiction, and poetry. These books cover a wide range of topics, from art to business, children’s, and more.
What are the three most valuable things in life?
Good nutrition, exercise, and sleep are crucial for overall well-being. However, illness or injury can significantly impact our lives. Time is also a valuable resource. The three most important things in life are relationships, work, and ministry. While work is not on the list, it can positively impact our relationships and ministry. Stephen Covey famously said that nobody wishes to spend more time at the office. Focusing on the most important things in life can lead to a more fulfilling life.
What are the four points making life worth living?
The provision of care is a fundamental aspect of personal growth and well-being. It entails the establishment of priorities, which may include one’s professional, social, recreational, domestic, and familial obligations. A considerable number of individuals develop a cynical outlook on their professional endeavors and the world at large. However, it is of paramount importance to invest one’s emotional and intellectual capital into these pursuits. It is of the utmost importance to care about your life and to strive to make it a great one.
What is a life that is truly worth?
A good life is one where one experiences good things, has excellent overall satisfaction, and feels clear about their place and societal role. This sentiment can be achieved through soul-searching and asking oneself questions. Some factors that make life worth living include finding one’s purpose, which can be difficult to find and can take time. Regardless of the size or complexity of the purpose, it is important to value it and derive fulfillment and happiness from it.
A meaningful life also involves being able to do the things that you like and enjoy. Living a life where we can pursue our interests without facing criticism or hindrances, such as criticism for immoral actions, is one way to make life worth living. It is essential not to forget or let go of things we enjoyed as a child, as they may continue to bring happiness as we grow older and contribute to making our life meaningful.
In summary, a good life is one where one experiences good things, has excellent overall satisfaction, and feels clear about their place and societal role. By focusing on these aspects, we can make our time in the world worth spending and not feel like we are just going through the motions without clarity.
How do you explain life is worth living?
A life worth living is about the small moments that happen daily, not about success or accomplishments. It doesn’t matter what others think your life should look like. To create a life worth living, take time to reflect on your values, which are basic beliefs that guide attitudes and actions. Identifying your personal values can help you return to them when you doubt yourself. When you act in accordance with your values, you may experience feelings of emptiness, disappointment, loss of direction, and “not like yourself”. When you act in accordance with your values, you may feel more fulfilled, energized, and more like yourself. Some questions to ask yourself to define your values include:
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your values about your work?
- What are your values about your relationships?
- What are your values about your family?
- What are your values about your career?
- What are your values about your community?\n8
What makes life worth living according to the Bible?
Life worth living can be understood through Jesus’ teachings, which emphasize the importance of loving God and our neighbors as ourselves. This love not only adds value to our lives but also fuels our love for others. Activities such as caring, listening, serving, engaging, and lifting others up are essential for finding value and making life worth living. However, there is no single item that makes life worth living, as there are numerous factors that enhance and detract from it.
What makes life most worth living?
Life worth living involves conscious intent, self-defined goals, meaningful work, love, and play. It can be a compelling and worthwhile mission for all. If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. In the U. S., dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or text TALK to 741741. For international resources, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory. For therapists near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory. For help outside the U. S., visit the International Resources page for suicide hotlines in your country.
What are the points of life worth living?
Life’s worthiness stems from small moments of self-love and kindness towards others, whether friends, family, or strangers. These moments can be shared through smiles, hugging, laughter, or quiet moments, strengthening our social bonds. However, they can also occur alone, such as reading, meditation, exercising, or watching the sunrise or sunset. These moments are essential for maintaining a sense of connection and happiness in life.
📹 What makes life worth living in the face of death | Lucy Kalanithi
In this deeply moving talk, Lucy Kalanithi reflects on life and purpose, sharing the story of her late husband, Paul, a young …
It’s not worth it. I intend to apply for medical assistance in dying when it opens up for people will mental illnesses in March. I think the longest period of remission I have had from my bipolar is about 3 months and I spend the majority of my time in depression. I gave it 2 decades of trying medication, treatments like ECT, rTMS, Ketamine and psychotherapy. I feel like Sisyphus except it’s not like I kidnapped Thanatos, so I really don’t know how I pissed off the Gods.
If I had a child then I would be forcing them into the type of life that they might eventually hate and want nothing to do with. And if an afterlife exists then I might be forcing them into an afterlife that they might eventually hate and want nothing to do with. And those are the reasons why I will never have children.
It depends on your prospects in life: if the outlook is very grim and utterly hopeless in the sense that someone is dealing with incurable physical or psychological conditions or even something else like severe financial problems or drug addiction I can’t blame people for taking their own lives, we can only be so strong when all is said and done. I don’t condone it but certainly don’t condemn it either because life is extremely difficult and painful for so many people. The world has it’s beautiful aspects but a lot of miserable heartbreaking aspects as well.
If life is obviously worth living and therapy can help a person to realize that, then why do so many therapists never train to help people who have suicidal ideation? Why would a person be accredited in therapy or an academic course be approved that means to never help people with ideation? How is dying bad for you? If the badness of a person’s life has overwhelmed them, how is it ethical to torture them with guilt and with obligation to continue to suffer?
I suffer from severe C-PTSD & Dissociative Identity Disorder along with Major Depressive Disorder & mild OCD (checking). I have a lot of suffering from flashbacks & abreactions that often resemble seizures. Other systems also make life very hard. Suicidal thoughts & feeling come up for me as a type of flashback & needing to escape my suffering. Therapy is very expensive & I can’t go as frequently as I need even though I’m working. My mother died a few years ago & my father in 1993. I’m an only child with no family. Life is tough. Often I think I can’t go on like this anymore. It’s too much of a struggle. I also have severe asthma & life-threatening food & drug allergies & hypertension. It’s too much to cope with alone. It makes life not worth living.
I noticed you referred to anyone discussing the ‘s’ word as patients? How do you arrive at this label? Why is it so taboo to discuss these matters intelligently without people with false optimism gas lighting and shaming anyone with a more enhanced view of what it means to be “alive”, and a difference of opinion.. ., The problem with anyone who operates in any Medical setting, is that they have no background in theology, philosophy, theosophy, or applied ethics. So they are in no position and are thus unable to offer a proper informed objective perspective..All current practices are founded in error and flawed logic, based on only assumptions. Monkeys trying to control other monkeys is rather funny. How many humans can answer the following:- 1 Do you do remember anything before you were born? Where do we get the notion that this is life, when you are dying/decaying via entropy from the moment you are “born”? 2 Who are? 3.Where are we? 4.When are we? 5.What are we? 6.Define life, Define death 7.What happens after we depart this body? It seems to me, that no one that i have ever met can answer any of these questions and have no authority to offer any advice to anyone. We run around repeating cliches and affirmations without knowing their true origins. From my experience the person sitting in their chair in a first world country has difficulty looking past their comfortable lives with a limited perspective on just how painful and difficult life really is…with 10,000 disease for humans alone.
The problem is as a mental health professional you are forced by the constitution to be pro-life. If you don’t oblige, you risk losing your license. If a patient has no interest in continuing to exist, it is the mental health professional and the government that takes the position as the arbiter of what is subjectively good or bad for the individual that is suffering. I feel it is a bit sanctimonious.
27 years old. Long story short, currently 3 years into working heavy equipment, earth movers specifically. Pay is terrible (less than $1 raise every year from $17.50) the work is interesting though. Haven’t spent time with friends in over a year in a half, but haven’t been in jail in almost 6 years. Currently living with my dad since December 27th, which is tough because my (second) stepmom is cold and mean even though I try to stay out of her way, and my dad himself was physically (hit, throw, kick), sexually (you’ll see), emotionally (told my the only reason I was born my mom was on firtility pills; when I was 15 said I’m the reason his life is shitty) abusive and likes to ‘forget’ about a lot of the bad things he has done even when others like my sister corroborate that he’s misremembering. I try to keep my distance from my dad but it’s thought because he comes to me, the economy is fucked I can’t move out unless it’s into my car. Moms a drunk on full VA disability because of when my dad beat her in a base and her new husband is also on full VA disability and they both drink while he chain smokes and makes the house gross. My mom says she’s the only one that cleans and does stuff which is true but she’s hammered by 9am every day. She even said I might need to move in to help and I basically was like no i can’t even figure out my life so I’m sorry but I can’t help with yours..I’m never gonna own a home, never gonna have a wife, or probably even another friend. Never gonna have a kid or even attempt to accomplish my dreams because I can’t afford to.
It’s not worth for me. Living life over and over. Will having a goal change it? . Because i want to visit so many places in the world. But does it change anything. I don’t know. I breathe in and out, sleep and wake, eat, all the days . Cry, smile, laugh, express, do everything. But at the end we know its death . What is after death . Is it nothing? then its good
Nice tone of voice… and that’s it because the whole thing has COMPLETELY no resemblance to reality. When you are born sick. When you have not one but two chronic diseases (incurable, fatal). When life is (despite all the fears and struggles) a series of failures. When you have no one else to turn to… When life is nothing but pain, suffering and futility… it begins to dawn on you that life is worth nothing but 💩 and suicide (in such circumstances) becomes the “emergency exit”.
fpr does who are depressed no lets be greatful and be happy F them who dont bealive in me we also been in jails i been true hell we also grow up this is how unbalance life is lets put negativety alone concetrate on ur own goal and realety focus kiss ur love ones tell them we love u hate is awful hate give u us nothing but hate jesus didnt plan that humans its just u are not having a good day its all but sun will come
Life doesnt know the meaning of “worth”, at least not in the philosophical sense. So in that case no it is not. But life and in our case our existance is not about whether we like it or not. Whether it is worth it or not. Of course it is not, because it does not matter at all. If it is worth or not. You live for whatever reason, let it be just chance or fate. You are alive and now you have to deal with it no matter the worth. You were given this existance and you cannot sell it. Life has no value per se, its an unchangable fact. It is or it isnt. Either you can enjoy it or you cannot. There is absolutely no worth to it. If you are lucky you can like it and if not well… then bad luck for you 😀 . Life is literally more like a bitch as they say 😀
When i watched my grandma slowly deteriorate and suffer everyday until she died is when i began to question if its really worth it, your body slowly fails you and rot to the point it becomes your own prison is the disturbing part. I felt dead inside always and even if i were given billions id still be dead inside, sure id spend money on what i want but then eventually i wouldnt know what to do with it and I’d still feel dead inside, plus nobody will be genuine around me.
I have been struggling day in and day out to work, and looking for something that makes me want to continue living. For the past few months, I have been falling in love with something that I have ignored for years. It gives me purpose to push through my stressful job because one day, I could get out of there and pursue what I desire. I have shared that with my loved ones, but they think it will not help anyone. They think that I would just be wasting money and time. I understand that we are not rich. That is why they reacted that way. However, I do not wish to continue living and working just for the money. It kills parts of me every day. What really saddens me is that they know my mental struggles and that if I have something that makes me happy, it keeps me away from negative thoughts that have already destroyed me in the past. I just wanna live my life with happiness while working and helping them. This spiraled really negatively and now I don’t feel like doing anything. I am crawling my way into work and trying my best not to break down. I hope life truly is worth living.
You obviously have great compassion, but saying that we should try to look for the silver lining in every experience without also stating that there may not be one is honestly a tired trope anymore. Tell that to a Holocaust survivor. Not everyone can be Victor Frankl or Anne Frank. Search for the story of the man who calls himself Dax and you will understand. He was severely burned in a gas explosion and, instead of being allowed to die like he requested constantly, he was subjected to a breadth of newly developed methods of treating burns. He survived and later lectured everywhere for patient rights – that his wishes to not be put through every torturous new treatment should have been respected. People then ask why, is he not happy to still be alive? And he always responds that that is not the point. The romanticization of suffering is horrtible. Sometimes there is no silver lining. Sometimes horrible things just break us, permanently…and that’s it. To pretend that’s not sometimes the truth is insulting and causes people to feel like failures bc they cant be “thankful” for their trauma. It is dangerous to only discuss reframing our experiences and to not acknowledge that that may not be possible and that there is nothing wrong with you if you cant do that.
yes every soul came here for the development of soul growth to learn lessons everything in life is preconceived if it wasn’t written in the divine plan it not happening you mapped your whole life out from start to end right down to every last detail even your death is plana and the cause of death life is synchronized
Please let me share my point of veiw . When you tknow the only true purpose for which this whole life was created and whole creation was designed, then we will find meaning, peace, and purpose. we can not find that unless we read God’s last book that was revealed to humanity through the last prophet Mohammad Pesce be upon him. It is the book The Quran ” in which you will fiind answers for all your questions about this life and the what came before and what will come after. in this book God speaks Himself.
no one asked for life you just pop up one day without having a say in it and now that you are here you need to follow the rules made by the ones who came before then there are groups of people in accordance with the time they came here and they have their own set of “feelings” and “values” and then one day we pop one out and train it to fit into all this shit and one day we just disappear from their lives
One perspective that has helped me a little bit recently is to accept mystery – accept that there is no way for us to know why we exist or if there even is a purpose. When I am able to remind myself of this, my attention seems to refocus on what needs to be done right here and right now. Like the dog needing to be taken for a walk. Needing to go to work. And like remembering that as insignificant as it is, I really do like feeling the warmth of the morning sun and the green on all the trees. It doesn’t always work though. BTW, for context – I am a person who has suffered with treatment-resistant major depression, OCD and GAD for over 35 years. Hardly a day has gone by in all that time that I did not say to myself that I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here bc I want the pain to stop – sometimes even psychogenic pain. I don’t want to be here bc my limbs are pinned to my bed by leaden paralysis. I am never not depressed, but I do have better days than this. I just need to ride it out and try the tools I’ve learned that have helped me in the past. Remembering to say to myself “remember the tools” is hard. As is, holding off on believing things are as bad as they are until I try some of my tools.
Some people are definitely better than others. The fact that the majority of people have at least been on a date proves that I’m lesser than them. I’m over 30 and have never even been worth taking advantage of for a free meal. Don’t tell me that we’re equal when I’m worse than you in every measurable way.
Why 18 y/o boy life is full of pain? Why i need to face this much financial crisis ? Why i need to live ? Is it worth living this life? After these much trauma mental depression, my mental peace is ruined. How my upcoming days are gonna be with this shattered mindset. Idk. This situation should never happen to anyone!
What if living means living with spine pain, hip pain and leg pain that started when I was still in high school and only gotten worse since then. I’m 41 now. I was walking with a cane and able to drive working as a speed courier until I got rear ended at a red light that put me in a wheelchair 3 years ago. I Loved driving, it was all I could do without causing too much pain, I took pride in my skills of dodging so many crashes daily and putting down over 300 to 400 miles a day for 4 day a week and getting my delivery done as fast as I could, I was over skilled and way under paid but the money wasn’t even enough to live on even while living in my parent’s basement. Now It hurts like my spine is being crushed with each bump. My life just keeps getting worse and everything I do to try and get help or better, I fail. I don’t just fail, I REALLY FAIL! I can’t get any help from a doctor anymore, I was back in 2013 until I caught the “Doctor STEALING my Pills” while doing the pill counts and was cut off cold turkey in 2015! Ever since, I can’t even see a pain doctor. I guess I should have just let them keep taking my meds because me saying just one thing about it and bam, I was pushed out of that office and told they would call the cops if I ever came back! So the only reason I’m still alive is because I have some older ladies that I would give ride to the doctor and once they found out how I was done, they started sharing some of their pain meds with me. Sadly, 2 of them past away and another had a stroke and was put in a nursing home.
Hey, I would like to ask you why did you become a psychiatrist? Did you feel like “hmm, this sounds interesting”? Was it your dream? Maybe you didn’t find it interesting but you were good at it? Or was it for money? Did anyone force you? I’m new so I don’t know whether you have already mentioned this information on your website. Another question, can I become one while being an egoist and lacking empathy (I suspect the reason is a mix of depression and being a teen, hopefully not a long-term problem) but still being able to understand other people? For a long time my dream was to get accepted into a good high school which I managed to accomplish but then I realized I didn’t know how to continue in life which made me develop extreme emptiness, laziness and I felt like I was the only one left behind while everyone else continued to pursue their dreams. Fortunatelly, not a long time ago I discovered my interest in this specific topic and my grades have gone up, I actually do some research regarding psychiatry and I feel alive again. However I don’t know if this profession is fit for someone like me. Could you give me an honest opinion, please?
I think there’s ultimately a purpose and whatnot and that it is worth living, but it’s beyond us either at the moment or always. If you go back to the start of how does anything exist, it’s ridiculous and impossible that any of it does – IMO I’m not religious but I think there’s a creator of some sort, and that there’s some ultimate thing this is all for – and beyond that, scaling back down to reality, forget all of the above stuff and just think, there are things you/I like doing and gravitate towards like our minds pull us to them, follow them, do your best, enjoy life etc, and maybe find out what’s up with it all afterwards lol.
I don’t have this issue, but I have a friend who is living very close to the edge. He tried to end his life last year by overdosing on some pills. After this incident he was hospitalized for 3 months and had therapy, but I think that didn’t work. His outlook on life did not change and he is getting worse and worse as time passes – asking the is life worth living question more and more. We have talked with him many times and I think I know why he is doing it, but not sure how to help him 🙁 He had a very strong and capable father who he idolized and in the last few years he started thinking he let him down. Now he is already in his 40s, has no financial issues, has a great job, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t find a partner. The idea of family is super important to him and I think he feels that he let his father down by not having a loving wife and children by now. He is not religious but has a firm belief that by not having children all his ancestors lives are rendered meaningless, which sucks, since based on that logic he is the one who invalidates their lives by not continuing their legacy. We have tried to challenge this thinking to encourage him to find other meaning in his life or look at it in a different way but we either couldn’t get through or just pissed him off. We also have tried to hook him up with girls many times – to fix the not having a family and children issue – but he couldn’t succeed making a relationship work. He might have some trust issues with woman, because his mother cheated on his father which broke the old man and their family fell apart ending in his father withering away in pain.
My idea about meaning of life is, that one can always find excuse to complain. And one can always find excuse not to surrender and keep fighting on. Its ironic how some people despite having all give up so easy, while others being as poor and miserable as possible, fight to the bitter end. History is full of events were people are starving and freezing, but despite all the bad still cling on to whatever they can.
It would appear to me that life is about meaning. If they have meaning, then people can endure any hardship. But if you don’t, then almost any luxury or comfort cannot give you satisfaction. The fact is, each person’s soul is a unique concoction, made by God (if you will). But in this world, very very few people are able to find a way in which that uniqueness can co-exist with their life struggle here. That leaves most of us questioning whether we need to be here at all. If anyone could live my life, do my job, make a family, then what’s the point of having ME do it? This is why we revere famous athletes, celebs, actors, etc. Because they have made something and do something that could only have been done by them. There is only one Angelina Jolie, or Lebron James or Eddie Van Halen. The rest of us feel quite interchangeable and pointless. This is where, in my opinion, one begins to question why we are alive at all. And I think that questioning is entirely natural and understandable. The only anwer any religion has is that God is mysterious. That doesn’t really do it for me. Perhaps it does for some others.
as someone nihilist and deist. i don’t believe in afterlife and i have lost my faith in my religion (islam), and now the idea of suiciding grows. i don’t want to live this life. it’s just what it is, i can’t say i have family problems or i was traumatised or anything. i’m just done i can’t visualize something on earth that makes me happy.
My story goes back too far to tell why and how I chose to live out my life. Many years of seeking, my purpose was revealed and I have always considered the darkest times of depression my greatest opportunities to grow and learn what I can, because they have given me wisdom, humility, compassion and insight. Unfortunately I am struggling long term traumas and loss, and the difficulty of finding my way back to living, rather than existing in my daily pain alone. But i do believe i am here to contribute, and unwilling to give up on that, even against all odds.
I just finished reading WBBA and came straight online to find a photo of Paul, his wife and daughter to put faces to their story. I have cried big fat tears for their loss and bravery, I will likely never forget Paul’s story. Lucy spoke on this TED with such clarity and strength, I’m so inspired by her and by Paul. Thank you for sharing your journey with us x
She is a one brave woman. I just read Paul Kalanithi’s book “When Breath Becomes Air”.. and witness their struggles from Paul’s writing. I think instead of only perusal this article, you need to also read the book. I’m no fighting any cancer or any terminal illnesses, i’m perfectly healthy. But i watched far too many people who suffered through it. I really hope everyone gets to see this and read his book. It’s honesty gave strength, not only for those who are sick, but literally everyone, especially those struggling to find the meaning of their lives. Thank you, Paul, for writing the book.. and thank you Lucy, for being his voice through this talk.
Wow now I can understand why Paul kalanithi found his soulmate in Lucy. As someone who experienced both sides as a caregiver-companions of my mom during her 6 year cancer and death at the same age of Dr Paul, and few years ago experienced cancer myself.. perfectly understand every single of Lucy’s words.. she is so beautiful. I love their so deep love and soulful connection. My case was the opposite and it hurts more than the cancer. But I survived. As I learned as a teenager from my mom the most important gift, “resilience” to live and to find purpose embracing life with all its colors with pain as joy, the importance of living with appreciation of the here and now, and the true about the fact that to born and dying are both natural processes that we will all go through and that death as a natural process.
This young woman is tough and trained to face death as it is part of her job as well. When her husband was diagnosed with the deadly cancer, she did not take it personally but grew with the awakening state, we are here, for a very short time and we need to make the best of it. She and her dying husband did just that. Sharing the experience with people makes it more tolerable for her and actually, a very special privilege. There can be beauty in death. I do not mean physical but the beauty of the human spirit. Their little daughter will be proud of them !
I could not resist tears as i turned to the last few pages of the memoir by Paul. At the few last moments of his life, he devoted himself to saving his patients, again. Sometimes while reading the book, i wondered would the chance of recovery be high if he had not returned to doing surgery? I dont know the answer. But i know one thing. He was yearning for a purpose, for the last commitment he could offer. It was absolutely beautiful.
I lost my cat this Jan 9th and I thought my year didn’t start well and I found myself crying and sobbing,lost, empty and it was all so sudden that I couldn’t bring myself to accept it and so I googled the best book on death and found this one and just finished reading it yesterday.I can say I didn’t understand everything but I did understand death, the suffering and acceptance and what living meant.
شكرا لنشر اشياء انسانيه شكرا للزوجه الرائعه الزوج والطبيب الرائع وصل لنا صوته وذكراه الموت مؤلم اخاف منه كثيرا نحن بالنهايه بشر ولنا ميزات بشر اتمنى ان يعيش العالم بسلام ونحترم بعضنا البعض على هذا الكوكب لا داعي للحروب يكفينا المصائب والكوارث لا للحرب نعم للسلام احترم كل البشر وكل الاديان لا يهمني ان اعرف بلد او عرق او دين الشخص يهمني ان نعيش على هذه الارض بلا حدود اين يريد الشخص ان يعيش او يسافر يجيدب ان يتلح له هذا الخيار السلام للجميع لا للعنصريه لا للفقر لا للحرب لا للعنف نريد السلام شعاري السلام ارجوكم الحياه قصيره ساعدوني لنطالب العالم بالسلام لنكون مجموعة السلام شعارنا السلام على هذه الرض
Love from Rok. I regret myself finding out this amazing TED talk after reading the book three times. Your calm and relaxing speech soothed me a lot, giving me additional inspiration along with what Paul have told us thru memoir. Whenever I feel lethargic for no reason and languid, I read your husband’s book and every line imbues energy. Hope you have a peaceful lifetime with your precious daughter Cady:)
To not be dead. That’s what makes it worth it. You could be poor, hungry, … The good thing here is that you’re alive. And that’s honestly all that really matters. Because honestly.. you could care less about the other person in another country that doesn’t have what you have. As long as you’re living your life.
If I have to be a vegetable in bed on life support etc just to stay alive a few weeks longer, I might as well rather take the shorter time and spend it more better and how I want. I do not want to die slowly, overtime, until I’m at a point of not being able to do what I live for. If I am restricted from my purpose in life, then what do I fight that extra time for. If I’m suddenly given an estimated time, I’d try to enjoy my final walk, rather than worry about how to make the walk longer and miss everything along side it. so I agree, I suppose.
Amazing book and even beautiful talk. One thing that I couldn’t completely agree with is that ‘we always have a choice’. Money and other resources play a huge role in how families deal with a terminal illness. And at times when people are pushed against the wall with crippled finances, not a penny in their banks – maybe then is the time they won’t really have a choice.
I’m very recently widowed. I wish I had seen this before that happened–after all, I knew it would. The technical medical care was excellent…but I now understand that I was let down in emotional support and did not understand choices about things I didn’t realize I could have done differently. I’m left with trying to think of all the good times, aware of how lucky I am in many ways–when the terrible memories of the end of his life invade my mind. After seeing this, I feel I much write to the medical team, who had all good intentions, about what went wrong that could have been prevented. This article is a very good thing; I’m sure it will help many others, and even the way doctors are taught.
My biggest wish/choice would to be to have insurance that covers me fully and allows me to get the best doctors and treatment, and not have to worry about co-pays and deductibles and whether or not a particular treatment or procedure or doctor will be covered in full or indeed even covered… because health care coverage is such a terrifying lottery in the USA. #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
I finished reading Paul’s memoir this evening. I am very appreciative of both his and Lucy’s willingness to share their story. The strength, compassion, and raw humanity of it all is moving, to say the least, and being able to put a face and voice to the matter is yet another great gift. Thank you for sharing such an elegant account of a decidedly difficult experience.
After his death, I felt so regretful that many people commit to the suicide without knowing the meaning of life! He gave me the strength to fight til the time I face my death. His life was so meaningful cuz it made many people realize the meaning of their lives again. Thank you so much 💞 Thank you soooo muchhhh ❤
Meaningful and bittersweet. This is such an important thing that we all should remember, living isn’t always nice, not always calm. We grow stronger through this hardships. Through this acceptance of the inevitable and through finding the best path for ourselves and the beloved ones around us. Thanks a lot for sharing more than the knowledge of your experiences but a part of your soul.
First read the book years ago, then multiple times since. I never found the words to express my gratitude. My profession deals with life and death, and I initially expected insights for on the job. Instead, I received exquisite literature that made me a better clinician and more appreciative, mindful person. Yesterday a patient & fellow reader gifted me with the words: “from his first page, I forgot my fear. He reminded me I’m alive now and I have love to enjoy” Thank you Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, for ensuring that your family’s lessons and Paul’s art were available to us.
powerful. No hard feelings. But i will say these stories are a day to day story in South Asian region. Ted talks are really doing great but stories of western world doesn’t fit with stories of Asian world. Honestly we love listening to ted talks..but always stories about western doctors is what we don’t want to hear. We as a doctor have faced so many problems and we do wanna share with the world. Last but nonetheless, I now get we are not meant to be with TED talks..but definitely you are true guys. Thanks
No offence but this is the story of almost half of the cancer patients…. Everyone has a life before cancer in Paul’s case he was a physicist Everyone has moments where we think how are we going to get back to our life as Paul decided to get back to medicine The only differences between Paul’s and others story is that he got to write it with some great writing skills. I guess anyone’s cancer memoir would have something to take from it. Obviously not everyone is not brave enough to end the life before having to be on ventilator. Some of them have families who don’t want give up on you before everything ends. Some of the great cancer books I have read till now are – 1. My sister’s keeper by Jodi Picoult 2. The fault in our stars by John green
Its interesting that all this medical research and they still can’t tell you ho long u have left to live…. on the bright side i think that if u knew exactly when u would die.. you would probably get really depressed and angry and go off on a killing spree…. maybe the death date is supposed to stay hidden
I guess this talk is more for her and not for us. It’s just about her personal life and no philosophical confrontation, just phrases. Doesn’t mean its bad, i just personally have a different less melodramatic sad view on death, this is kind of a mirrow of all movies ever, who had a topic on death, just in the form of a ted talk and thats fine.
I hate to be the one to say it, but Lucy seems to be assuming quite the public profile from all this. I was a little taken aback by this when Paul died and the book came out. And she’s been churning out articles and talks about it till this day. I’m guessing she’s pitching her own book deal any day now if she hasn’t already. Not saying she isn’t genuine but she’s definitely trespassing on bad taste.