The recent, unexpected death of Tim Russert, a renowned and beloved TV journalist, brought deep sorrow to his family, friends, colleagues and viewers. The death of a relatively young, vibrant person is always disturbing and, the better we know him, the more it triggers our own sense of mortality.
Religious people, of which Mr. Russert was one, often accept these tragedies as part of God's plan; in their view, God delivers both happiness and pain. Pure fatalists, on the other hand, harbor the conviction that "when your time is up, there's nothing you can do about it."
Those of us in the medical profession witness many early deaths in the course of our career. While many are due to trauma or to unpreventable illness, a significant percent result from poor lifestyle choices or from underlying, treatable conditions. A fatalistic view of life overlooks or denies the control that we have over our health and, thus, over our longevity. Tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, lack of sleep, excessive stress, uncontrolled hypertension and the avoidance of seat belts are all examples. We are not solely at the mercy of fate!
