Assurance for the modern age. (Part 4)

Assurance for the modern age

Part 4: Coping with the fragility of what we have

Let’s suppose you are fortunate enough to be on track to enjoy all these things: what else might you still be lacking? What are the aspects of the human condition that might still unsettle you?

Firstly, there is the fragility of your good fortune. What if ill health or tragedy do befall you? How will you cope if your sense of well-being in life rests on the multitude of good and enjoyable experiences that pervade your life?

This fragility is multiplied beyond measure if you are deprived of your good fortune through injustice. This could well be at the national or international level through warfare or famine – not likely for us in Britain, but, even though we are considering our situation, our worldview needs to be able to encompass others – we cannot simply bury our heads in the sand and revel in our good fortune while ignoring the plight of others. And, of course, even in Britain, the scope for suffering from injustice is present – whether it be through crime, changes in technology and the economy, government decisions, or simply other people “doing us in” in some way to gain advantage for themselves.

Finally, there is finality. With a long and happy life, it is perfectly possible to just put off thinking about big questions, and only when time finally catches up with you and you realise you’re on the final countdown, then start to consider big existential questions. Perhaps by then, it will be too late to bother you, as you’ve already got 80 years of good living “in the bank”, and there is barely time to adjust to your new frailty before you’re gone.