
In this era of instant news, we're never out of touch with what goes on in other parts of the world.
But do we pay enough attention to events close at hand?
An ambulance removed my reclusive elderly neighbor from his flat last week. He was unable to care for himself and had suffered another decline in his breathing. I can't help wondering if the same fate awaits my when I'm old and alone.
Nobody wants to think of their own demise. I'd say I have about 15 years left. My parents and grandparents lived into their mid 80's. I've got plenty to occupy my mind, so I won't die of boredom. One writer cyber-friend on the other side of the world has just celebrated her 105th birthday. This leads me to believe that novel writing keeps the brain cells active and develops new ones, essential for averting dementia.

Nature keeps us attuned to our present circumstances. We are not our body, which will wither and die. We are the spirit inside.
Edgar Cayce, the legendary seer, advised using our latter years for learning new things to prepare for the next life. He also said,
' Secret, private, alone and separate are active words in our vocabulary. In the higher realms of consciousness there is no space. ... Things and people are not separate, but part of a Whole. ... By increasing the focus on self, we have created the illusion of a self separated from the rest of life, but it just isn't so. Our individual actions and thoughts make an impact on the Mind of the Universal One'.
Therefore, we are connected to everything that goes on in the rest of the world. Not through the internet, although that's a good example, but through the mind.
I'd like to believe that by caring about what happens to people buried alive under rubble, I am, in fact, helping them. Or am I living in a fairy tale?