"master and man" by leo tolstoy

pete43lost_at_sea

from wikipedia

In this short story, a land owner named Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov takes along one of his peasants, Nikita, for a short journey to the house of the owner of a forest. He is impatient and wishes to get to the town more quickly 'for business' (purchasing the forest before other contenders can get there). They find themselves in the middle of a blizzard, but the master in his avarice wishes to press on. They eventually get lost off the road and they try to camp. The master's peasant soon finds himself about to die from hypothermia. After leaving his peasant to die, and returning to the same place he had fled from, the master attains a spiritual/moral revelation, and Tolstoy once again repeats one of his famous themes: that the only true happiness in life is found by living for others. The master then lies on top of the peasant to keep him warm through the cold night. Vasili is too exposed to the cold though and dies. Nikita's life is saved, but he loses some of his toes to frostbite.

"it might even be worth the trade" has been said here referring to the intensity and insight gained from living our lives in the present moment and having our mortality in the backs of our minds.

"the masters death no longer matters because nikita lives. beyond his egoism , he discovers a truth touching the essence of life" from p29 "anti cancer" by dr servan-schreiber.

its personal but i accept my cancer and fully appreciate the deeper insights and increased awareness of my present life.

hope you like the story and now tolstoy is on my bucket list.

can highly recommend anti cancer as a good read as well.