It has long been a pet theory of mine (pet theory #322, if I recall correctly) that people today, especially Baby Boomers, have come to believe that if they do everything perfectly—perfect diet, perfect exercise regimen, perfect use of all safety devices, perfect medical care, perfect precautions taken in response to every scare that comes down the pike—they will not die. Or even grow old and sick and frail. But above all, not die. Because death is a mistake, not part of life.

But last I checked, the mortality rate was still holding steady at 100%. Yes, if you try to live sensibly and make good decisions and take care of yourself, you can increase your odds of having a longer and healthier life, and not going before your time. (Inner peace has physical benefits too, I believe.) But your time will come. As will your parents’, and your children’s, and everyone else’s.

Be sensible, be good to yourself, take good care of those in your charge. Enjoy the time that you have and the moments you spend with loved ones. Know that everything comes to an end, but don’t let that knowledge crush you. Above all, nolite timere: be not afraid.

We take risks, tremendous risks, when we dare to love, to form families, to make babies and welcome them into this world. We have every hope for happiness and joy, but accept that some sorrow is inevitable, and a whole lot of sorrow is quite possible. We take those risks anyway, whether out of love or naïvete or some mixture of the two. We take them because we are human, and because deep down we realize that, regardless of the outcome, our lives would be much poorer without them.

Nolite timere. Be not afraid.