The Wall Street Journal article, “The last decision by the world’s leading thinker on decisions” by Jason Zweig (3/15/25) was moving and thought-provoking, but it stopped short of addressing my question: What might we miss if we don’t complete our journey?

The author of this article was friends with Daniel Kahneman, psychologist at Princeton University, winner of the Nobel prize in economics, and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, who died in 2024, choosing to end his own life in Switzerland. 

The article caught my attention because for numerous years, my parents have suffered through many of the things that Daniel was looking to avoid.  If we avoid all the struggles of the end of life, are we prepared for our next journey?  

I’m not here to debate whether it was right or wrong.  I would be the first one to say I understand his thought process, and when viewed only with logic might not disagree with his decision.  I have no judgment, whether his decision was right or wrong.  But I do wonder if he was fully prepared for his next step?

Enduring our struggles is never easy.  And I’m not sure that many of us understand why we might have to be put through difficult times.

The author indicated that Daniel’s wife suffered from a stroke and dementia.  It was a painful time.  He chose to avoid burdening others with his life struggles.  Taking his own life before his decline was significant.  He felt a decline, but others were not aware.

I see and can understand his perspective.  I don’t believe I would make the same choice because I believe we are being prepared as we struggle.  We are enduring to gain whatever it is we need as we prepare to be with Jesus.

According to the article, Daniel wanted to lift the burdens of his family, his friends, and all those around him from anything he would have to suffer through.  For me, those were beautiful lessons to learn through times of suffering, giving, listening, or simply being there for someone else. 

The experiences that my children have from seeing their grandparents daily, through the end of their lives, are priceless.  It wasn’t pretty, but Jesus didn’t promise pretty or easy.   

We all make our own choices of how we move through life.  How our life affects others is very complicated and very beautiful.  We can only predict how the future will affect all those around us.  My faith tells me that the suffering we endure gets us closer to Jesus.  

I understand Daniel’s logic, but I give control to Jesus!  

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