Death’s sting has always stunned people. The Bible says it is appointed unto man to die, but the death of a relation or a friend is always bound to leave us crushed.

Wailing, a pensive mood, and a feeling of one’s life crushing abruptly among others are immediate reactions to the loss of a loved one.

Even some have been driven to commit suicide at the loss of a relation -- which can be very unfortunate. Apart from love, sex and life, death is one of the most popular themes in songs, movies and other arts. This shows that it is at the very heart of everything we do—it is part of life.

Yet the element of surprise in death remains. I once knew a beautiful lady who was also very brainy. She virtually topped every class at school since she was in crèche. She had a wonderful personality and was cut for success. But before she could even finish SHS, death manifested itself. It was not a pleasant piece of news. A budding, healthy tree gone…forever. Her family was devastated and they wondered why it had to be her. Her life had not even begun…but there she lay breathless, cold, a bubbly girl snuffed out never to smile again.

Indeed, death has always had a way of getting at us like none other. The sister of the deceased, who was my friend and schoolmate, found life meaningless soon after -- you know, when it happens like that, at least for the first two or so weeks, we wish it were all just a bad dream.

That this is a person you will never see again in life breaks the soul. For months, my friend went through hell. No amount of tears could revive her sister; she could not come to terms with the fact that her intelligent, innocent sister was no more.

So with Komla Dumor’s death. It seems the news has not even sunk; many people are still in denial. “He’s gone? Just like that?” you ask? Yes, just like that. But don’t be surprised there are those who still hang on to a glimmer of hope that Komla would come out and clear the air and describe his death as an expensive joke.

But you know, in times like this we have two options: to resign ourselves to fate or pick ourselves up from the dust and forge ahead with our lives. Of the two, the latter seems the more difficult to do.

Komla lived a very fulfilling life, and I am sure he would not want us to beat ourselves up for something we did not do. Of course he would cherish the love we have all shown him, but at the same time he would also appreciate that we continued with the remainder of our tasks here assigned on earth.

Taking care of ourselves

While we work so hard, we must pause and share some time with our family and friends, for they are the ones that do cherish us most. Personally, I believe hard work should not be detrimental to one’s health.

That is not to say you must not give your utmost, but what you must also know is that the body has limited capacity just like a machine, and overworking it and not taking it through regular maintenance will lead to an eventual shutdown—a system overload.

The Bible says that God created the universe and all that’s in it within six days, and he rested on the seventh day. Even the Almighty rested. This underscores the need for rest; it must not be taken for granted at all.

You can decide to adjust your body to work for 10, 12 or even 14 hours daily. That’s cool, but you should know that rest must also be taken in similar proportion to ensure a well-balanced body.

Prof. Frimpong Boateng, former CEO of the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, has bemoaned how a lot of young professionals are working themselves to their graves. You can’t cheat nature. The sad aspect is that mostly, the people we work so hard to impress, our families, are rather left miserable because we died trying to provide for them. Sad as it is, you can be replaced at your work place but your family will never be able to replace you with somebody else.

But this should not to be an excuse for people who are outright lazy. Not at all; lazy people must not seek refuge in this. While giving your 101% best is ideal, you must also know it is because of the need for rest that we have five working days, the weekend off, and an annual leave.

I am saying all this because I believe beyond work, we must also make time and enjoy with the ones we so cherish. It should be as simple as ABCD. No? We all have got to get the balance right.

Our thoughts and prayers should be with the family of Komla, especially his wife Kwansema and those three lovely angels of theirs, Elinam, Elorm and Emefa.

The writer is the author of Rhythms of Thoughts, a column published in the Weekend edition of the Business and Financial Times (B&FT).