From Ryan Holiday’s book, “The Daily Stoic“.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.29 “It’s a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first while the body refuses to. “
This makes me think of the people with dementia and how they lose their memory, their sense of self towards the end. It’s so sad.
My mother died with Dementia among other things. The thing is, her body remained somewhat healthy for years until it finally could not go on. She was not in great health heading into her 90s, but she was able to get around. Her health declined util she was wheelchair bound and eventually her body gave out. Mostly from inactivity.
Unfortunately, she did know what was going on in the present. She would zone out all the time. She was confused and lost, for years. How can the body remain strong when the mind is gone? It just can’t.
When she did pass, it was sad, but a sense of relief as well.
I loved her so much, but we lost her long before she died.
God bless my mom.