Anesthesia and Peace


I recently had the experience of getting general anesthesia. Prepped, rolled into the operating room and having a mask attached over my face.

Next thing I know, I’m waking up.  I look around.  I see a man cleaning up and taking things off a table where someone else once lay.  He puts the things in a plastic container.

I look to my right — another person who just woke up from their anesthesia.

What happened to the 45 minutes that passed?  No dreams.  Nothing.  Emptiness.

Can one call this peace if one can’t experience it?

Dictionary.com uses one definition of peace:  freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety.

A second definition:  a state of tranquility.

But if you don’t feel tranquil or free from annoyance are you truly at peace?

Lost are the 45 minutes of nothingness.  And they can’t be recovered.

Such is life as it is.  Every moment on this earth can be useful or wasted.

Time is truly fleeting.  Moments become minutes, minutes become hours, hours become days, days become weeks and weeks become years.

The “lucky” ones age and die.  And then?

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