Life - My fickle companion
Channel: York Cardiology
Date: 2017-04-29

This is my thought of the day which was recorded for BBC Humberside and will be telecast on tuesday am at 6.45am. 
On the 21st of April, we heard the very sad news that a rather wonderful footballer by the name of Ugo ehiogu had suddenly suffered a heart attack and died. Ugo was only 44 years of age and a hugely competitive athlete who had always taken exceptional care of his health. 

Now as a cardiologist, I come across death on an almost daily basis and am accustomed to it. Nevertheless Ugo’s untimely death made me think of how fickle life can be and reaffirmed a truth that many of us know yet have chosen not to confront and that is that when our time is up, it’s up no matter who we are and there is nothing we or anyone else can do about it.

You see.. to my mind there are two aspects to life. 

There is length of life - which can’t be measured (until after life has ended) and over which we truly have no control 

and then there is quality of life which we can measure and over which we do have a lot of control. 

And therefore if we think about it, it becomes obvious that the only thing that really matters and that we can do something about is our quality of life. Although the media would have us believe that quality of life is bettered by acquisition of material possessions, the truth is that quality of life is dictated by feeling free, having meaningful and happy relationships and finding a purpose beyone onself.

Yet so many of us end up sacrificing our quality of life by joining the rat race, becoming slaves to the system and neglecting our health, relationships and personal growth. We compromise by acquiring material possessions as a short term fix to make ourselves feel better as we continue to sink into a vicious and all-consuming cycle of materialism, stress, unhappiness and loneliness. We convince ourselves that one day sometime in the future, all the pain, sacrifice and hardship will pay off. The truth is that that day may never come because life itself may betray us at anytime.

And therefore i urge you, the listener, to always remember that life is a beautiful yet fickle companion. Embrace it and make it more beautiful by slowing down, taking time to look after yourself and spending time with your loved ones. 

If there is something you dream of doing, go out and do it today. Enjoy and make the most of this moment because truthfully it is all you and I have.

Thank you