Re-Thinking Death.

I think about it constantly. It doesn’t scare me anymore to indulge in thoughts of what the society around me deems as a taboo. I think maybe, it’s because I have been growing roots into my soul by accepting the reality of life. Thinking about death seems as if it’s a prerequisite to a spiritual life; but tonight it’s the thought in my mind because I am insomniac. It is 2 AM and I can’t sleep, reason being: I have a terrible sore throat. So, I am awake in these godly hours, trying to soothe a body in pain and the discomfort of flu.

 When we feel something is a little off with our bodies, we are reminded of how perishable our bodies are. Of what awaits us at the end of forever, at the edge of everything that we know - death. Death sneaks up at the back of our thoughts when the idea of illness kicks in. When our bodies start to ache, creating way for pain. Herein, the reality of our nature reveals itself for we always know that death is a matter of a second.

I wonder how we ended up fearing our own reality. Death is a reality of life. The idea of death haunts us so much that, despite how much we pretend to not mind it, it is an ever present spectre.

Regardless of our fear of death, it will still happen making our fear of it a trifle and a useless thing. We have no choice in it because once we are alive; death is the ultimate end since everything that gets born has to die. Yet before the final reckoning, there is life. Why then should the moments of our rendezvous with death be exhausted in fear?  So, while I am awake, as I am now, and I feel that my body is betraying me, I hold onto something that I love: I pull out a book and read.....I may as well go out enjoying my final moments.

There is an awesome quote by Mark Twain that, the fear of death follows the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time

                       

Like a child being born, we have no choice but to yield to the unknown. Once born, we must yield to the cycle of birth, living and dying. In the spiritual aspect, death and life go together, the more you embrace and remember your mortality, then, the more fully you can live.

We have been conditioned through fear, to be scared of death and so we develop a kind of selective amnesia to it. We teach ourselves how to forget death so that we don’t embrace and face the fear that comes with accepting this reality. The truth is, if you are busy living your life to the fullest, you won’t have time to worry about dying. If you focus on living authentically, passionately well, then, the fear of death cannot take root in your heart .A person who is truly satisfied with their life is not afraid of death.

Would you embrace the idea of planning for your passing? Would you accept the reality of your being and think about it before it happens or would you rather stick with the fear of it?

Dying isn’t just part of the human condition, but central to it. The less we discuss and embrace it, the scarier it becomes.  We have avoided talking about death to reduce our discomfort but, in the long, run we have become anxious about it.

What would it feel like to not be afraid of death?

In the final analysis, much of human fear is the fear of death. And it has been said that, in this regard, there are two things that a human being cannot view with a steady gaze: one, the sun and, two, you guessed it, death. When we contemplate our own departure from this plane of existence, we flinch because of the fear of losing what one has acquired over time. Our fear, when it comes to death is not of the unknown, of what is on the other side, but of losing what we know.

We are afraid of losing all that we have accumulated with time: our friends, family; our investments, the tender yet to be paid; that new Mercedes you bought after years of sacrifice; what will happen to your children after you are gone?

Our fear concerning death is never that of experiencing the unknown, but of losing that which we own and know of. That which we hold dear.

In this school of life, we come with nothing and we shall return with nothing. What we accumulate in between is just what life offers to us. Our clinging to it is what causes us our sufferings.

It’s a taboo to speak or think about death in our culture but I think it’s time that we accepted our ultimate reality. This way, we will live with intent and face life courageously.

Re-Thinking Death.

By Mystic Venus.