The Sheltering Sky

[Skull Mason]

"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..."

Discuss or reflect.

 

[D_Tintagel_Demondong]

Not long ago, I was seated on a plane beside a nurse who did hospice care. She mostly worked with cancer patients. She said that they were the lucky ones; they were the ones who got to reconcile with family and friends before they died. Knowing when you die can be oddly serendipitous.

And now kiddies, here's the movie.

 

[nudeyorker]

Because of my sometimes crazy schedule I have had to miss birthday's and anniversaries of people I care about; as well as parties and holidays. I was going to the airport last year thinking about all of the important events I've missed because I put work responsibilities before my personal life and I became very sad that that there was not an endless well of these occasions. I have subsequently made a change in my priorities I realized that I don't have a million days left to somehow recapture some of the things I've missed. I am enjoying life and my family and friends much more now.

 

[B_Nick8]

I watched my brilliant and beloved step-father die of Alzheimer's Disease over a period of nine years. What was worst about it was that he was aware of what was happening. I remember hearing him pray at night when he thought no one was listening, asking god to give him back his mind and his memories.

I'm not sure why I felt compelled to share that, but it's a horrible way to go.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it?

Discuss or reflect.

Good topic.

I've heard it said more than once that our choices are important precisely because we are mortal and our time limited.

As for me, those special memories, when I have the time or the inclination to dredge them up, do form an important part of my life's experience. I'd be the lesser without them.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..."

Discuss or reflect.

The only worthwhile moment in an otherwise dreadfully dull movie...
Skip ahead to the last 5 minutes, that will save you a lot of precious time that can never be reclaimed.