by Oliver Sacks
(Review)
Oliver Sacks is well known for the book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Among the books written by him is the one called “Gratitude”
Written two years before he died, the book comprises four essays on old age, illness, life and death. It is a short book, simply written and full of wisdom.
We are all concerned with life, we talk and write about troubles and illnesses, but we don’t like to talk much about old age and death. However, they are also part of our path…
For the author, old age appears as a period in which freedom is accompanied by the fruits of wisdom gathered throughout life.
For me, old age is not a fatal age, which I have to endure and with the thought of which I am forced to come to terms with, but a time of peace and freedom: I am now freed from the conventional imperatives of youth, I am free to explore what I want, and reap the fruits of a lifetime of thoughts and feelings.
Oliver Sacks
Learned to see death as an end and not a transformation, we run away from even the idea of talking about it or to paraphrase Carlos Castaneda, we avoid discussing it as if we were immortal. However, we are sometimes brought by the illness into a position to talk about it because it puts us in a position to use our honesty and clarity in evaluating how we have lived our lives.
In the last days, I was able to contemplate my past as if I had looked at it from somewhere on high, like a panorama, and I could see in depth how all its components were interconnected.
Oliver Sacks
In the second essay entitled “My Life”, the author expresses joy and gratitude for how he had lived, along with agreement on the truth expressed by Hulme’s statement “It is hard to believe that anyone can be more detached from life than I am now.”
He was aware his days were numbered: “Time no longer allows me to lean on frivolous things.”
Yet, at the same time, with the acceptance of death, he synthesizes simply and concisely what he leaves behind.
I cannot pretend I am without fear. But the predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return.
Oliver Sacks
It is a book that takes you little time to read, and gives you so much in return!
Love, Manuela
Copyright © 2016-2024 manuela@inalove.world
In a Love World 
This is beautiful. I found the book in my Everand app, but I didn’t dare to read it. I felt I wasn’t ready for it.
However, upon watching the Kdrama Hometown Cha Cha Cha, there was the story of an old lady who lived her life well, and who passed away.
I particularly enjoyed her last words, she said that she lived a beautiful life, she met wonderful people, and that she ate well. She was grateful for everything she had received and understood her purpose.
We’re all going to go through this process, sooner or later. It’s all a part of life’s string.
Thanks for sharing and have a blessed, lovely week ahead, dear blogger! 🌷🌱
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Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Katherine! Have a lovely day every single day! 🌺🌻🌼🌷
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Thank you!🌺
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