In 1988, musician Tom Petty, a member of the Traveling
Wilburys, co-wrote a song called End of
the Line that included this lyric: “I’m just glad to be here, happy to be
alive.” And then, as of October 2, 2017, at the age of 66 years, he was no
longer here, having died of cardiac arrest. Another lyric from the song
suddenly became more poignant: “Maybe somewhere down the road a ways / You’ll
think of me, wonder where I am these days.”
Why is the death of a musician, actor, or politician we
never even met such a shock to us? Somehow we connect with them emotionally through
their music, art, or the way they lived their life; their death then triggers grief
that may be surprising to us and provides a stark reminder that our own time is limited. A few weeks before
his death, Petty said in an interview that he wanted to take on a number of
different projects, but “There’s never enough time, you know?”
We do know, but we don’t act
as if we know that our time is limited. St. Benedict advised us to keep death
always before us. The death of anyone who has touched us in some way is a
reminder to use our time wisely, because we don’t know when we ourselves will
come to the end of the line.
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