Death is the ultimate experience life has to offer. It makes sense to die well. I agree with Richard Smith on that. I don't think one can die well unless one learns to live well.

Hence I would like to raise the issue of the art of living well. So many people suffer through life in boredom, pain and despair. It is almost as if we forget that we're ALIVE! "To live at all is miracle enough," says Mervyn Peake in "The Glassblower". And it's true! I still can't get over the fact that we all start out as a single cell. And that we are aware, are at all able to sense, feel, think and act is no small miracle.

Why don't we live with a sense of wonder? Why don't schools have a Wonder Hour every week when the fantastic nature our existence is explored in terms of the diverse perspectives of science, art, history, literature, beliefs and the integrated nature of the experience of being human? Programs like the Blue Peter already do a great job, perhaps they could introduce the theme of the wowness of being human, of being alive.

And in Medical Schools, I see so many students trudging through the art of healing... Why not change that? Instead of getting bogged down by details why aren't we uplifted by our lifelong effort to live and love? It would be great if the Freshers Week at Medical Schools showed "Patch Adams" - an inspiring film based on a true story of the making of a doctor - to whet our appetite for the adventure ahead.

There are campaigns to educate the public about the importance of a healthy diet. But the advice slides like water off the back of a duck. Why is that? I suspect that's because there is inadequate alignment with the awareness level of the public. Though we live in the same world, our awarenss of life is incredibly out of par. We all seem to be looking at bits of the elephant and missing the whole! Now would be a good time to start to fill in the holes in our wholeness. Life is fantastic. We need to wake up to it while we still can. We only die once.

Why do people squabble over petty winnings? Why not share the journey? Why does the human race live to survive the rat race? Why say why and not say why not? We can break free from the 'survival of the fittest' paradigm of nature. We do it everytime we save a life, heal a child, kiss a graze better. Medicine and indeed, human life itself is the opposition of nature. We arise out of nature to oppose it. Naturally. Nature's red in tooth and claw, we needn't be. We humans! We gripe about the 'human nature' while missing the humane nature of being human. It's easier to see what's missing than what's in. Let's take a fresh look inside. Let's open the eye of wonder. That's how children see the world and that's why they are so innocent. There are lessons there.

"Are you ready to die?" asked Richard Smith. I am ready to die. Each dawn, I wake and say, "Wow! I'm still alive!" Each night, I sleep ready to die, "Wow! I have lived!" I'm dying to live.

Thanks for listening. I would love to hear what you have to say. Go on, say something. You're alive remember!

Wake Your Mind:

1. Make the most of your mind - Tony Buzan - great tool to upgrade your mind with
2. The story of my life - Helen Keller - a richer way of seeing life
3. Unweaving the Rainbow - Richard Dawkins - the magic of understanding the process of life
4. The Human Mind Explained - Susan Greefield - introspection in full colour
5. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan - the pitfalls of the human mind and how not to fall through
6. The Never-Ending Story - Michael Ende - uplifting fantasy with philosophical hints
7. Small Gods - Terry Pratchett - jokes that 9/10 of the brain is in fact Reality Damper to keep everyone from grinning through life. A fantasy that has a lot to say about human life