I view death in the same way, I can't wait to be dead. I can't wait until I get to spend an eternity with my loving & incredible creator. But I can't bear the thought of dying, the pain, the tears I will envision glinting off my friend & families cheeks. I can't bear the thought, and it makes me so sad that I have to die. I often can't see through death to heaven.
As if I wouldn't be pumped for this: (yea, I know I've put it a couple of times, but in case you couldn't tell, the bible never gets old)
‘"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelations 21:4
It is one of our most ingrained instincts, the fear of death. The force with which we cling to life is incredulous.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am afraid of dying. Take note of the difference.
Of course, I am only afraid of dying as much as I am afraid of pain or suffering. I dread the end of my life if it is to be painful. I welcome the end of my life if it is to be painless.
But death. I always welcome death. It is a balance to the world, the opposite of life. Death ends the suffering, the pain, the hurt.
Now I don't know what lies beyond the land of the living but this is what gives me such a respect for death. I don't believe that you are correct in your view of a possible afterlife Luke, but I don't deny it's possibility.
For me, death will be one of two things.
Firstly, if death leads onto an afterlife, then for me it will be a period of intense and concentrated enlightenment. I'll finally know what humans, since the dawn of their existence, have wondered about! In this way, I respect death as a process that will sweep back all of the lies and reveal the truth, whatever that may be. I will be joyous to finally know. But don't jump to conclusions, on the flipside, while I'm living, I feel amazement at what I don't know. I love not knowing things! It brings adventure and uncertainty to life, beauty and aim. The sheer amount of things we know we don't know is massive, and the humongous amount of information we don't know we don't know is infinitely larger! Not knowing is something fundamental of being human, and I revel in it.
Secondly, if death is what I believe it to be, a simple end to organic tissue and therefore the brain and consciousness, then I respect that too. If death ends all, one will not even know one has ended. I think of it in this way; death (if my above belief is correct) is merely a return to whence we came, the completion of a cycle. Not many people think about the time we had before birth. We're always focussed forward, to our fates and ends. Death, being the end of all, will be the ultimate fate, the one I hope for most. It is neither good nor bad, it is not even neutral. It is infinitely off that spectrum. And I welcome that too. Being wiped of everything, completely devoid of existence may seem scary but you will never know this. You do not exist, so any fears you have are gone. In a death such as this, you are not upset by the grieving of others around your absence, you are not rewarded or punished. This is the death I hope for.
ß∑