Isn't it kinda funny how people react when faced with a life threatening illness? With such surprise at the thought of reaching their demise. Ironic I think... As if we've fooled ourselves into thinking we'll live forever. I find the thought quite refreshing myself. Just another reminder that life is about change. We often forget what life is really about, when cought up in the race to get where we're going. Stubborn... wanting everything our way... right here... right now... But life isn't about reaching any destinations. It's about the roads we choose to take and the things we see on the way there. It's holding your crying nephew when he wakes from a nightmare It's kissing the woman you love It's making a stranger smile It's creating something beautiful It's connecting with someone It's finding what makes you happy (No matter how briefly) It's the little beautiful moments That turn into beautiful little memories That make existance worthwhile So don't fear dying Fear not living
i agree with most of what you've said here except who thinks they're going to live forever? most people know they're going to die, there is fear based around that but it's kind of understood that at some point you're going to die it's natural to fear things, without fear you would die very early in this life..fear is there to keep us alive people do live in fear in our society more than they ever have, but regardless it is still natural to fear and it is funny how alot of people rush through this life, going nowhere kind of ironic that everything is so fast paced and there's so much pressure to get somewhere but where we're going is our grave, something alot of people are afraid of..hmm anyone could spend alot of time thinking about it all but maybe instead of trying to analysis things we should just be living
it would seem that the christians, muslims, jews, hindus, buddhists, and others found a way around death....
My family had those views. Until my older sister was diagnosed woth melanoma. Then the whole ballgame changed, and OH MY GOD! THE WORLD IS ENDING!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! My sister wasn't too upset, the other siblings were.
I reckon a lot of people, although they know they'll die oneday, think the serious illness and bad stuff happens to others. Suppose I was one of them...and then my mother died. From that day I never took anything for granted ever again. We have to enjoy the here and now!
it may not be fully apparent, but i think you're right when you say that we convince ourselves we'll live forever. we do whatever we can to hide away from the thought of our end, and put things off till tomorrow all of the time. if we were to keep the idea of our death in mind at all times, maybe we'd appreciate our time here all the more. the fact that it happens to all of us is reason enough to stay connected to the idea of it as much as possible. death has got to be one of the most interesting phenomenon we can experience, and yet some fear it more than anything else. don't know where i was going with that, but i love this subject and had to say something.
when i was born i was faced with a life threatining illness. called life. i was reluctant to commit myself to the probability of becomming addicted to living. =^^= .../\...
see how well that works when it's actually YOU coming face to face with your mortality. I'm the same way, and actually agree with you. But then, I've never been that close to death. Even when that old woman hit me on my bike, after I stopped tumbling along in the street, even though I was in howling pain I knew it wasn't life threatening...it just hurt (i didn't even break anything, including my helmetless head). And in the split seconds while I was flying in the air/rolling around, there's no time to think anyways, so that can't be counted. So it's easy to be an armchair philosopher about it, but I wonder how truly stoic or relaxed I'd be about my upcoming death when I'm truly faced with it, like with a terminal disease or some such.
Last winter I was told by a doctor that I might have cancer and I was somewhat surprised to find that I was completely unable to deal with my own mortality. Although my scare turned out to be nothing more than a scare, it has helped me put things in perspective a little better. I think that mortality is a necessity for anyone to really enjoy life. Just look at cancer survivors and the way that they are able make the most of the days that they never thought they would live to see. IMO mortality is simply the price we pay for happiness.
