What-if questions haunt us. After a loved one’s death, the what-ifs can feel like a vice squeezing our hearts. But they finally ease their grip as the clock keeps spinning and the calendar pages turn.
What if the what-ifs keep troubling us?
They can randomly and relentless disturb us, like odd noises jarring us awake in the depths of night. What if . . .
- he’d quit smoking years before?
- she had gone to the oncologist earlier?
- they hadn’t given that last dose of morphine?
- you hadn’t flirted with the passenger on the plane?
- you’d said, “I love you” . . . instead of “Leave me alone?”
- the family had attended church (or temple, synagogue, or…) more often?
Are what-ifs like an airborne virus? Mirriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines disease as:
“a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.” [Underlining is mine.] Read More →
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