Day 228 (Two-Hundred & Twenty-Eight) of 365 days
We are all aware of death, and we know it will come to us all. To many of us, death brings a chill down our spine ridden with fear, but to others, it is ridden with strength and satisfaction of accomplishment. Fortunately or unfortunately we are all condemned to death. However no one knows when exactly the inevitable will approach, but we all know it is inescapable. But what makes death seem more realistic to us and those in denial of it is the lucid pictures of people suffering, in pain, and those on their death bed before many of us can be rational and accept the truth.
Our first question is to what end and upon what right do we think about the strange and inaccessible subject of death? The answer is because of the supreme certainty we have about the existence of man: that it cannot endure without a sense of meaning. But existence embraces both life and death, and in a way death is the test of the meaning of life. If death is devoid of meaning, then life is absurd. Life’s ultimate meaning remains obscure unless it is reflected upon in the face of death. The fact of death must be a major factor in our understanding of living. Yet only a few of us have come face to face with death as a problem or a challenge. There is a slowness, a delay, neglect on our part to think about it. For the subject is not exciting, but rather strange and shocking.
Death is grim, harsh, cruel, a source of infinite grief. Our first reaction is consternation. We are stunned and distraught. Slowly, our sense of dismay is followed by a sense of mystery. Suddenly, whole life has veiled itself in secrecy. Our speech stops, our understanding fails. In the presence of death, there is only silence and a sense of awe. The view of death is affected by our understanding of life. If life is sensed as a surprise, as a gift, defying explanation, then death ceases to be a radical, absolute negation of what life stands for. For both life and death are aspects of a greater mystery, the mystery of being, the mystery of creation. Over and above the preciousness of particular existence stands the marvel of its being related to the infinite mystery of being or creation.
Death, then, is not simply man’s coming to an end. It is also entering a beginning. Last breath. Gone forever. Nature takes its course. Death is inevitable for everyone. The thought becomes unnerving when one takes time to think that eventually, it will happen to them. Younger adults and children tend to blow it off, thinking that because they are young, it won’t happen to them. Dying is certain, but the timing is not. As people become older, the fear of dying in this death-denying culture becomes more prominent in their thought. However, what if illness and death become sooner than we thought or they were unprepared for what was to come? Culture today seems to be too optimistic regarding death. We are so afraid of dying that we have no choice but to be a culture of life.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, most of us fear death. Death remains a great mystery, one of the central issues with which religion and philosophy, and science have wrestled since the beginning of human history. Rather than having open discussions, we tend to view death as a feared enemy that can and should be defeated by modern medicine and machines. Our language reflects this battle mentality, we say that people “combat” illnesses, or (in contrast) “fall victim” to them after a “long struggle.”
Actually, it is death that makes every second of life worth living. If you would not have found death, you would not try to live a life worth living. Don’t lie a death before your death. The fear of death is what moves us to see and experience the good things in life. Make sure that you don’t lie before your death. Because that is what is more important. Whatever is your lifespan that is not in your hands? God sends it scribbled into your hands. But have you chose to spend that time is certainly in your hands.
This is why we should go out and explore more. Live your life as you always wanted to live before the time runs out.
