Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

I had an early morning appointment for a mammogram today, and, as usual, I was fearful, not just because my daughter died, but for friends who've died, and the many friends who survived breast cancer. My son-in-law's mother is beginning treatment soon. As we get older we have a one in nine chance of getting the disease. When I sat in the waiting room, I felt all the suffering and anxiety and stories I'll never know breathing with me. I notice we all are extra polite and kind, as if our goodness will give us a reprieve. One young man accompanied his mother and was tenderly solititious with her. Health is a great leveler. Money and class and race don't give you a free pass. We are all naked under the sun. It's a profound lesson that must be learned and relearned. I will be receive a text within 48 hours, but I liked the old way where it took ten days for the result to arrive in the mail. I was then able to forget about it for a while, and the buffer helped. Because the brush with death is there whether you escape or not. We are mortal, and in that lies our common humanity and our great sorrow.