|
How did you come to terms with Death?
|
I'll take that as a compliment Eternity.
![[Image: bloodyheretic.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=img849.imageshack.us%2Fimg849%2F8673%2Fbloodyheretic.png) "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Einstein When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down happy. They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life. - John Lennon  (June 8, 2011 at 3:00 pm)BloodyHeretic Wrote: The thought of leaving loved ones behind, plans unfinished and the tremendous waste that is death, is of course the worst aspect of it, but, I should never hope to live to a time where I didn't have loved ones to leave behind, or plans to finish. I think if you arrive at a point in your life where you can think, "I'm done", it'd be a terrible shame. I have seen this first hand. In fact my first introduction to the reality of death was dealing with this exact situation. When I was thirteen I used to mow an elderly neighbor's yard. He and his wife never had many visitors so when I would go to collect my money I would usually sit down and talk to him for an hour or so. I could tell it was the highlight of his week, but eventually the conversation always steered in one direction. He was done with life and all he could do at that point was wait to die as he was miserable and in pain. Sometimes he would even proclaim that he thought God had forgotten about him. This really made me think as I had never heard of anyone wanting to die and I couldn't wrap my head around it. I eventually came to the conclusion that life isn't always the precious thing it starts out to be and that death is necessary for life to be precious. Death is the one part of life that we are all guaranteed to experience and it is merely the next step in the cycle of life. Without death, life would be less valuable. Once you can come to grips with this and understand it is an inevitable part of existence then no belief in the afterlife is necessary.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
Death really isn't waste. That is not to say that some deaths are not preferable, or more timely, than others, but really, death is very efficient. Its what leads up to it that can suck.
Trying to update my sig ...
I say death is a waste because of the wealth of human talent and intellect lost to humanity when certain people die. I hope for instance when I die, somebody might have cause to say it was a waste, I had much more left to give.
However this can be argued in death's favour, it get's rid of bad, stupid, ignorant people too. That is a blessing not to be taken lightly. I take your point then. I hope I've illustrated mine a bit better too. "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Einstein When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down happy. They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life. - John Lennon (June 8, 2011 at 4:12 pm)BloodyHeretic Wrote: I say death is a waste because of the wealth of human talent and intellect lost to humanity when certain people die. But death leaves room for an equally talented and intelligent human being to take their place. There is no real net loss from death other than the specific individual.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
 (June 8, 2011 at 3:31 pm)Eternity Wrote:(June 8, 2011 at 3:00 pm)BloodyHeretic Wrote: If you've ever been under general anesthetic, been unconscious or even in a dreamless sleep; you understand that oblivion is no big deal. Being dead is not scary in the least. Dying itself is not something anybody relishes, but it's just part of the life cycle, you have to accept you will die. It's not pleasant, but then it's not really pleasant for believers either. Of course you don't know how to respond! you believe in islamic twaddle.  RE: How did you come to terms with Death?
June 8, 2011 at 4:28 pm
(This post was last modified: June 8, 2011 at 4:30 pm by BloodyHeretic.)
@ FaithNoMore
Yes I agree, in terms of humanity I suppose it's a good and necessary thing, but subjectively I think everyone feels a certain sensation of unfulfilled potential when an inspiring, worthwhile and/or loved person dies. They may be 90 but we'll still feel aggrieved that we didn't maybe get everything they had to give. In dealing with death as an emotional issue, this is an important topic to address. That is what I think the original question was about. Of course you're right though, in the ledger of humanity, it balances out. "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Einstein When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down happy. They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life. - John Lennon
I agree it's sad when someone dies and we lose their benefit to humanity, but like you said that's an emotional response and subjective. My point is that to truly understand and cope with death, emotions need to be set aside and it has to be looked at objectively. Being as it is human nature to be emotional and mourn loss this is impossible for someone to do 100%, but also a goal that one should strive for.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
|
|
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
|
