Dear Everyone,
We’re all on death row.
The rich CEO in the modern high-rise. The homeless man huddled in a filthy blanket on the street. The young housewife in suburbia. The children on the school playground.
We’re all on death row.
I’m not saying this to be ghoulish or overly dramatic – it’s just the truth. The Grim Reaper comes for us all (with some exceptions, which I’ll explore at some point in future letters). It may not be by firing squad or Old Sparky the electric chair or lethal injection in some prison basement somewhere, but the result is the same for each of us (again, some exceptions).
The difference between the the vast majority of us and actual death row inmates is that we get to walk around as we please waiting for The Day, while they are sitting in their cells waiting for The Day. That’s a very big difference, isn’t it? Maybe, maybe not.
Because whether you’re on the ‘outside’ death row or the ‘inside’ death row the questions are the same: What are you doing with your remaining time and what is your state of mind during the wait?
We can waste our time wallowing in despair and self-pity, or we can face our circumstance with courage and hope. We can lead an empty, purposeless existence waiting for annihilation and nothingness, or we can believe in and find something more than the empty darkness we imagine.
There is something more frightening than death, and that is living a life without purpose or hope.
So, until my next letter comes your way, don’t be afraid, we’re all on death row together and there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Sincerely,
Your fellow death row occupant
Child of God, husband, father, grandfather, rabblerouser, songwriter, pot stirrer, waiting for the King.