On Irreplaceable

Everyone has someone who is irreplaceable. In one sense, all of us are, and to God all are surely known. But in terms of daily life, all of us are hanging by a thread.

            Who do you depend on? How would you replace this person? If you were unable to act for yourself, who would act for you? How much depth is there in that list?

            Ideally, all families would be large, devoted, and free of trouble. If instead it seems the Buddha was right, and suffering, especially in the forms of old age, sickness, and death, is pervasive, the possibility of losing the irreplaceable is ever present.

            Children are irreplaceable to parents. The parent mourns the child: in past centuries it was common, leading to the idea the world is a vale of tears. Often it is. Can we be irreplaceable to someone, not living merely for our own concerns?

            I regret spending so little time being reliable, attentive, protective to those outside my circle, so little time seeing what’s actually going on. The Shire of Yarra Ranges community services say they have 3000 frail people on their books for home assistance. Who is irreplaceable? Who’s irreplaceable to you?