The End Game

There will come a time, if it already isn’t here, that this body will die. One never knows, there may be something going on inside that I can’t feel, can’t see, and of which I am not aware. My conversation with Maggie last night also made me think about the end game; what is going to happen when I die. It isn’t something upon which I want to dwell but at the same time I can’t duck the issue, ducking issues is not something I do, although I tend to make decisions when they are necessary and not before.

Now may be the time to do some “what if” planning, not take any steps but do the planning necessary to make sure that everything is in order. There’s so much that has to be thought through and these lines are not the vehicle for same; no, the proper format is the planning method that has been so valuable to me in the past. These lines are appropo for laying some philosophical foundations for thinking through the planning process.

The real issue is if this body were to die sooner rather than later then there are things I should do, be doing, to prepare the way for an orderly transition. The possibility that it could happen sooner has been ignored until now; of what should I be thinking in order to make it less of a shock. Should I be doing anything differently in terms of the way I am living my life?

A starting point for that answer is a good look at how I am living now and let’s see if there is anything I would do differently. I have my Endeavors; they take almost all of my productive time. There isn’t much I do that is not tied to one of the eighteen. The one thing I do more of than I would like is solve puzzles, be they Sudoku or Crossword or whatever. Some time doing that is almost like exercise for the brain but I tend to do a lot more of it than that. The analogy is spending too much time at a fitness center instead of leading an active sporting life.

My purpose, as a being, is to develop sufficiently to be able to exist without a body. It is doubtful that this is the case right now. It is even doubtful that it could be accomplished in this lifetime. There is a certain permanence that may have been evolving over centuries of existence as indicated by certain associations with other beings and places. Is it for sure? No it is not, and that part of me that moves about during the day will never know for sure until the day this body dies. So what do I do in the meantime?

The first and last answer to that is to do what I am doing now but continuing to look at each activity and verify that it supports an aim in my life as I want to live it. If I had to do more of anything, it would be to reach out to s.o. else who can benefit from my association. I don’t know who that would be; I won’t look for anyone but then I must ask, how will I do s.t. for s.o. else if there is no reaching out? It will happen because it is desired on a level of being where hundreds of other personae in here who are impressed with the value of doing it and they will take the incremental steps necessary to have it happen. They will answer the question in due time. Another way I can be of help to many others is to publish my planning method. It is has become unique and is proven useful.

There are some things that I should be doing now; a general strategy is to live as if the end were imminent but plan ahead just in case it isn’t. “Live for today but plan for tomorrow.” The silver, gold, and diamonds are not a big deal, I could cash them in and use the money for some other desired asset and then that could be sold for whatever is paid for it when I'm finished with it. The difference would be the enjoyment of this other asset instead of having them stashed away in a safety deposit box.

I know from experience with mom and pop that the materials left behind are irrelevant. As far as my stuff is concerned there is nothing that I would “will” to anyone, except my log books, my history worksheet, a group of magazines, and pictures that altogether are my life story.

As for the accumulation of other stuff, I’m not going to give it a second thought. When this body dies it will be for s.o. else to sort through and dispose of it just as we have been disposing of mom’s stuff for the past six months. I suppose I could assemble the historical, to which I previously referred, and make some overtures to the kids to see who may want to preserve it. I could also make some permanent storage arrangements and let them know where it is if they ever wanted to search through it. Some of the historical worksheets can be copied and given to each of them both as print outs and as computer files.

This session will be saved, published but kept confidential, and used as a basis for continuing to plan the end game. Already the strategy has been articulated: “Live for today, plan for tomorrow.” That’s it in a nutshell. The action item is to plan a set of actions that do this. It can be factored into my weekly plotting and scheming session; I will add a column to the worksheet titled, End Game and do the process with it just as I have all the other Endeavors. I could jam it into an existing Endeavor but right now it is important enough to be id’d separately.