When we see our enemies and friends gliding away before us, let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of mortality, and shall soon be where our doom will be fixed forever.

Watching people go ahead of you, the ones you loved and the ones you did not, is a reminder that the same current carries you. That knowledge is usually held at a distance. Held steadily rather than dreaded, it tends to simplify things: what matters becomes easier to pick out, and a great deal of what occupies you turns out not to be on the list.

You might let a loss you are carrying settle one question you have been putting off. Nothing dramatic. A call you have not made, a grudge you no longer want to keep, an afternoon spent with someone rather than on something.