The Finality of Death..

[Rora]

I don't fear it at all. My existence will only get better after death!

I can't say I don't fear it but I certainly agree with this bolded part of the statement.

I know I'm young but I do realize that life could end at any moment. It's a scary thought but it's also humbling. It truly puts your life in perspective.

 

[punkin]

I feared it when I was younger, I look forward to it now.

Everyone who knew me as a child and was important to me as I grew up is dead. Somehow I cannot see death as that frightening anymore. I am almost looking forward to it. Of course I still have responsibilities here: my DH and my children need me and I love them and don't want to leave them, but other than that...

 

[bicker]

Nope, it's kind of a circle of life thing for me. You're born, you live, you die. You "live on," as it were, only in the hearts of the people who have known you.

Precisely so, and I think people do themselves such a disservice by underestimating the value of their own contributions to those around them. Unless you live a life without giving of yourself to others, the impact that your love has on those you share it with is all the eternal life you will ever need.

 

[Buckalew11]

Everyone who knew me as a child and was important to me as I grew up is dead. Somehow I cannot see death as that frightening anymore. I am almost looking forward to it. Of course I still have responsibilities here: my DH and my children need me and I love them and don't want to leave them, but other than that...

I think this is why so many older people say they are ready to go--between faith and their loved ones who have gone on before them, they are ready to see all those people again. Very often before people die they start a separation process between things here and the end. They may not care about the scores of a game, or to read the newspaper, or about their loved ones daily lives...they're separating themselves because they are getting ready to go. It is an interesting process.

I'm not afraid of death. But I could get riled up about "how" I'm going and how much lingering I'd do or pain I'd be in during the process.

 

[Aisling]

I don't fear it at all. My existence will only get better after death!

 

[punkin]

I think this is why so many older people say they are ready to go--between faith and their loved ones who have gone on before them, they are ready to see all those people again. Very often before people die they start a separation process between things here and the end. They may not care about the scores of a game, or to read the newspaper, or about their loved ones daily lives...they're separating themselves because they are getting ready to go. It is an interesting process.

I'm not afraid of death. But I could get riled up about "how" I'm going and how much lingering I'd do or pain I'd be in during the process.

Relatively quick and completely painless would be nice. I'd like to get a chance to say goodbye.

 

[LukenDC]

I accept the finality of death by recognizing it as part of nature and a natural process that billions of people have experienced before me. Death is a unifying experience for generations of the human species and indeed all living things. I don't believe in heaven or hell and I am doubtful of any "afterlife."

I imagine that my acceptance of the inevitable end of my life will grow as I age.

 

[AshleyW]

I'm not scared of dying. I am, however, scared of my loved ones dying.

I took a humanities class where we talked about death, and the instructor showed us the film "Wit" (starring the amazing Emma Thompson) - it's also a play with the same name. It really helps put death into perspective, I think. My favorite part from it:


"Do you think that the punctuation of the last line of this sonnet is merely an insignificant detail? The sonnet begins with a valiant struggle with Death calling on all the forces of intellect and drama to vanquish the enemy. But it is ultimately about overcoming the seemingly insuperable barriers separating life death and eternal life. In the edition you choose, this profoundly simple meaning is sacrificed to hysterical punctuation.

And Death, Capital D, shall be no more, semi-colon. Death, Capital D comma, thou shalt die, exclamation mark!

If you go in for this sort of thing I suggest you take up Shakespeare. Gardner's edition of the Holy Sonnets returns to the Westmoreland manuscript of 1610, not for sentimental reasons I assure you, but because Helen Gardner is a scholar.

It reads, "And death shall be no more" comma "death, thou shalt die." Nothing but a breath, a comma separates life from life everlasting.

Very simple, really. With the original punctuation restored, Death is no longer something to act out on a stage with exclamation marks. It is a comma. A pause. In this way, the uncompromising way one learns something from the poem, wouldn't you say? Life, death, soul, God, past, present. Not insuperable barriers. Not semi-colons. Just a comma."

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

If death is the end, we will never know it, so why fear it? I believe death to be the next step. Now that is a little scary...

 

[legalsea]

I accept the finality of death by recognizing it as part of nature and a natural process that billions of people have experienced before me. Death is a unifying experience for generations of the human species and indeed all living things. I don't believe in heaven or hell and I am doubtful of any "afterlife."

I imagine that my acceptance of the inevitable end of my life will grow as I age.

Agreed. I was like the original poster as a youth; now, in my fifties, I am not near as alarmed.

I also liked what Mark Twain said (from memory, so not exact): "I have no fear of Death. After all, I was dead for billions of years before I was born".

 

[OhMari]

I never thought much about it, till I became sick for about a year. When I got better, I could not read obituraries in the paper, nor can I watch any more medical shows on tv. My dh uncle passed away this winter, and his family couldn't handle watching him die. My Father-in-law, made a comment, "We all want to go to heaven, but none of us wants to die."

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I'm not afraid of dying. I do hope I have a lot of years left though, but I know it's not guaranteed. My only fear of dying is suffering or having something horrendous happen to me that tears my family apart. If I can make it to the end of a long life, have been a good, giving person, and slip away in my sleep, that's really all I can ask for.

I work at an Estate Planning/Administration law firm so I see people every day that have lost someone within hours or come in one day and find out they passed away the next. It really makes you think about how every single second is precious and how fast the years go.

My Mom (54) seems content with the fact one day she won't be here on Earth anymore but wants to make every day as good as she can. My Dad is terrified of getting older (he's 61 and mainly feels this way because he's had a heart attack, health problems, and skin cancer within the past year) and death. I dread losing my Dad knowing how terrified he is.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't see how this can really be discussed without talk of an afterlife of some sort. Of course a belief in that isn't necessarily tied to a church.

I think it's a bit scary though because it's so unknown. Whatever a person's belief is you just really don't know what it'll be like.

 

[4nana]

I'm sorry you feel this way Dismagic1, please try not to dwell on it.

With age comes wisdom, hopefully as you mature, throughout life's experiences, you'll gain more peace towards the cycle of life.

With respect to your feelings and not turning this into a religious debate~

I'll simply tell you my faith is my stronghold, my demise is a part of life, and I am totally at peace with my future spiritual journey.

Frankly, my fear is an illness, that I may have no control over, and perhaps our dear children helplessly watch us suffer.

 

[KimR]

Precisely so, and I think people do themselves such a disservice by underestimating the value of their own contributions to those around them. Unless you live a life without giving of yourself to others, the impact that your love has on those you share it with is all the eternal life you will ever need.

Maybe I'm selfish, but that thought doesn't really comfort me. I love life. I want to continue to be able to hug my children, to love my husband, to take walks, watch movies, enjoy good food and drink, travel, read, do the things I love. I hate the thought of no longer existing.

More than that, though, I'm terrified of growing older and slowly losing the ability to do the things I mentioned above. My MIL is in her 70s and is miserable and unhappy due to her declining health and other issues. On the other hand, my dad who is the same age loves life and acts like he's in his 20s or 30s; so I guess declining with age isn't inevitable. Still, the thought scares me.

 

[Robinrs]

I'm sorry you feel this way, please try not to dwell on it. With age comes wisdom, hopefully as you mature, throughout life's experiences, you'll gain more peace towards the cycle of life.

With respect to your feelings and not turning this into a religious debate, I'll simply tell you my faith is my stronghold, my demise is a part of life, and I am totally at peace with future spiritual journey.

Frankly, my fear is an illness, that I may have no control over, and perhaps our dear children helplessly watch us suffer.

WISDOM!

This whole thread reminds me of the old Blood Sweat and Tears song, When I DIE:

I'm not scared of dying
And I, don't really care
If it' s peace you find in dying
Well then, let the time be near

If it's peace you find in dying
Well then dying time is near
Just bundle up my coffin
'Cause it's
Cold way down there
I hear that it's
Cold way down there, yeah
Crazy cold, way down there

And when I die, and when I'm gone
There'll be, one child born
In this world
To carry on, to carry on

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Yes, I am afraid, but I just try not to dwell on it. I'm afraid of a lot of things, and as an adult I've gotten much better at ignoring them. As for an afterlife, I make no claims one way or another. I'd be thrilled to find there was something else, but I certainly don't expect it.

 

[FireDancer]

It really doesn't freak me out at all. Death is inevitable and my worrying about it will not prevent it, in fact the stress might speed it along. I live life by the serenity prayer and death is one of those things I must accept because I can not change it.

I do all I can within my power to not only extend my life as long as I can but to extend how long I have a high quality of life. I look at life as a big two dimensional chart. The x axis is duration of life while the y axis is quality of life. I am much more interested in the total area under the line then I am at the length of the line.

Some people believe in an afterlife, some don't. It is none of my business which category anyone else falls into, that is your choice and you are fully entitled to it regardless of which you make. I do believe in one which I think helps a bit with the finality part but that is just me.

 

[bettymae1121]

I don't fear death. I also believe that once you're dead, that's it. But there was a time in this world that I didn't exist, and that was okay, and it will be okay when I don't exist anymore. I think back to my earliest memory (about age 2), and then I try to remember before that. I just get a big blank dark "nothing". That's not scarey to me!

And it's not as if I'm wrong and there really IS an afterlife I'll be disapointed or anything, in fact I'll be pleasantly surprised. Well...I hope it's pleasant...