I’m currently taking care of my dad at the hospital for a while now, and it’s amazing how many things a place like this can teach about life showing you death every day.

One thing I learned here (against my will) was to identify if a stretcher is carrying an alive person or a dead body just by listening to it as the nurses push it; its sound changes—more rattling when an alive person is on it and more null/thumping when with a dead one.

But one powerful lesson I learned here is how precious life is and how terrible the lack of it is. After spending a few hours at a hospital, you can’t help but feel the urge to live, go for a walk, hit the gym, go to the beach, parties, etc. You witness firsthand how even the small things of life are incredible fun. A walk in the park? Wow, many sick people I see here every day would give everything they have to experience this again.

However, sometimes all the mourning and heavy atmosphere of this place make me feel uneasy, anxious, and a little scared at the thought that all the people here were once healthy like me, including my dad.

During these times of deep reflection on how I’m living my life and on how much suffering people in this place endure, a description of the Kingdom of Dunsrell from my book Johnny Rikkens’ Fantastic Worlds crosses my mind:

“Dunsrell was dry, dead, and sad—beyond hope. It was a Kingdom where criminals from around the Old World were sent to pay for their misdeeds. The punishment? Never die and never live again; stop living and live to die; be afraid of dying and terrified to live and see that there is no redemption, no second chance, no other way or a new day. But just the eternal lack of beauty and grace filling with generous void the eyes of tormented observers as they stood on the edge of their existence, staring down into their souls’ morbid, inviting, and dark abyss.”

I had and still have bad moments in my life, but I was never clinically depressed, but if I could guess how a depressed person feels, I’d say it’s like living in the Kingdom of Dunsrell. And was a bad moment like the one I’m experiencing right now that gave me inspiration to write that description. Maybe I’ll come up with a new idea during this new challenge. We must look on the bright side of everything, right?

If you want to know more about my experience here, check out this other post.

And you, dear reader, what was the place that taught you something deep about life? I’d love to hear your thoughts!