The Comic and The Tragic

“The comic and the tragic lie inseparably close, like light and shadow.” ~ Socrates

Comic and tragic, light and shadow, day and night, life and death. Yin Yang and two sides of any coin, for one to exist, so must the other. Tragedy of life, joy of death. Pain during life which is survival, surviving sickness and disease. One such disease is cancer. A slow take on what we try to avoid, forcing us to see into the abyss of what is inevitable, an eternal end or the beginning of something bigger.

“Death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

When facing death directly in the face, knowing the time instead of trying to guess how much longer we have, how do we wrestle with our fate? A destiny so sure when cancers have their way, war comes our way, or when escape is surely out of reach. Acceptance is forced upon us, making us question our life’s path, having us question whether we’re at the value of our life instead of the quantity of years. How do we obtain value and quality in any amount of time given us, to where we’re able to give value to the life we live affect those around us.

My mom’s cancer, giving her a shorter life than what may have been originally promised. Her energy sapped, weight taken. Pain has taken the place of everyday life, giving her a persistent cough and organs that give pain. Death lurks, showing it’s face, especially to us who’ve become accustomed to it’s stench. How is death allowed when life is more precious than it?

Science still has yet to take this detriment from us. In the line of life, science is still young, still finding it’s place. How much longer will it’s path take to figure out what it is that is a foundation? Dealing with the certain, we become uncertain, hoping for more and creating myths and legends so as to better deal with our lot in life.

Cancer, for as long as it’s been around, studied, and progress made, how do we still not know it’s kind?