Life’s Fragility: Reflections on Survival and Existence

I was on my way to the office and thinking of what to write, as nothing major had been put in the last week.

As I was crossing the road, a bike with a man and a woman slipped and both were thrown on the road.

Thankfully none of them got hurt that badly, but the bike damage was severe.

While they were slipping, I saw their struggle to save themselves in that brief 5-6 seconds.

The man shielded his head with his hands, simultaneously trying to apply the brakes, while the woman at the back, desperately tried to hold onto the man and also tried hard not to fall on her head.

Post this incident, people gathered, a few gave them water, and asked them to sit on the footpath for some time before proceeding further.

I too resumed my walk to the office, but then my mind drifted towards the thought of how every living organism tries to increase its probability of living.

Many millennials back, when the man was still in his inception stage, came in contact with strong streams of river water, he developed the skills to swim and save himself.

When hungry, he tried many means of food – plants, fruits, leaves, and animals, and in extreme cases cannibalizing as well. But somehow always found a way to keep himself alive for some more time.

Since then, humanity has progressed in a big way and a lot has been achieved to conquer the various things causing death.

Nature has given weird things to respective animals to save them from dangers causing death.

A newborn starts crying once feels hungry –  an indication to the mother to feed him/her and continue life.

In a war, when the fighter plane got hit, the pilot gets ejected with a parachute, in the hope that he will successfully land thereafter.

Pharma companies are at the forefront in this and now and then we see the strides they are taking to save humanity.

We too take many steps – like exercise, healthy food habits, and no excess in anything. Try hard to live stress-free [though it’s impossible lately].

Moreover, we also take the option of insurance to avoid the burden of hospitalization.

We did and are doing so many things to increase the probability of living life for one more minute.

Someone jumps into the river in a suicide attempt, but in those last moments, that person also struggles to breathe. Breathing in that instance is the opposite of the purpose he threw himself into the water.

But consciously and unconsciously we strive to live.

Everything we do to make ourselves to be here, in this world for some more time.

Then we hear news like a healthy person suddenly died in an accident. A drunkard, with a big insurance coverage wasn’t able to reach the hospital in time.

I somewhere read that a Niagara fall jump record holder died in a road accident.

My point here is, that death is the biggest surprise in our life, we try many things to increase the probability of living, but somehow we won’t be able to beat it.

We may try many things, but the probability of beating death, so far, for any living organism is zero.