Have You Accepted Death? Share Your Experience and Age

[vanesch]

I try to take on the stance by Epicurus:
"when we exist, death is not, and when death exists, we are not". So we never meet death.

 

[octelcogopod]

One of the things that helped me was basically to just realize that I'm a random organism in the universe, exactly like every other organism that ever lived.
Literally every organism to have lived on this planet has either died, or will die in the future, so that's kind of helpful.
I don't want to try to explain or rationalize anything with spiritual thought, or cloud it with my conscious thought, I would rather just try to look at it realistically, and for the most part I manage to forget it during a typical day.

Truth is though, that the human mind isn't equipped to handle death on a spiritual or rational level. There may exist a lot of people who say they have no fear of death, and that their focus is on life, and whatever other philosophies they have come up with, but when reality comes, and it's time to die, I'm sure most people will feel what acceptance really is.

In a way, death can be said to be even more natural than life, that destruction is more natural than creation, but they are both the same thing, except as conscious beings, we ultimately end up losing something in the process, while other things may just change, without anything lost.
I truly believe most of the comforts we have built up, society we have created, the awareness of mental concepts, illnesses, awareness of self etc, has induced a much bigger fear in humans, than earlier seen.

I don't really think one should completely accept death, because this would mean that one wouldn't care about living either.
If you like ANYTHING on this planet, then even if just for a split second, you would think 'well I don't really want to die right now, I'm in the middle of this activity..'

I think, the focus should not be on death, and it isn't for most people during a typical day.. But I mean, just focus on making a good life for you and others around you, focus on what life has to offer, and the day when you're about to die, let it be sure that nature will make sure you die, so you are out of control completely, and isn't that kind of liberating? No responsibility, nothing you need to do at all, you can just let it all go, and get some rest.

 

[ForMyThunder]

I'm 16, too. Yeah, I've accepted death; it will come quickly and silently. I'm curious about what is in the "afterlife", if there is one. Personally, I hope there is, because if there wasn't then all the work, struggles, and moments in my life would have been for nothing and worth nothing. In a way, I am looking forward to it. I'm not afraid, because it is inevitable.

"Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us."

The only "fear" about death that I have is that I will die for nothing. I try to live always in the present; you enjoy life more, and the experience lasts longer; instead of always waiting for what comes next. Death is tomorrow's problem.

 

[DaveC426913]

...I've accepted death; it will come quickly and silently...

It's good that you are optimistic, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

 

[VISTREL]

I've accepted death longtime ago. Actually I'm kind of fascinated by it, and can't wait to find out what (if anything) lies beyond. But I have fear of untimely slow dying process like getting cancer, etc. I'm agnostic so I'm not too bothered if my unique life experience will end because I think we are part of a much bigger game. Look at it this way, before birth you did not exist and after birth - you're! So in a way, if you die some observational capability will still experience material world in a different person and personality. It's hard to explain but you get an idea. I think it is the ultimate purpose of everything - to have an experience.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't think anyone can say they've accepted death until they've actually come face-to-face with it.

 

[ForMyThunder]

It's good that you are optimistic, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

What I meant was that no one knows the hour death will come; so it "sneaks up" on you. If you are referring to experiencing a long, painful death, then I know what you mean. I was referring to the actual moment you die, not the process by which it comes.

 

[Alex6200]

I have a few thoughts about death:

-I'm not comfortable with it, at all. I mean, I can get by without living in fear, but if I was told I was going to die then I would be very afraid.

-The scary thing to me is thinking that I will never see anything again. There will never be any more life, no more questions, no more thoughts or dreams, no more universe, nothing.

-What comforts me, in the end, is to remember that everything I love about not being dead - being part of a loving

-In a more metaphysical (read bs) sense, I don't like to draw hard lines between me and you, life and death. Yes, I'm not the same person as anyone else, but we're all pretty similar. In effect, only part of what I identify with as "I" ends when I die. The person I was 5 years ago is dead, and if you go back far enough you'll find a person that is in almost no way similar to me. Life and death is a blur, and it's something that I don't understand at all.

To me, accepting death is just breaking free of your ego. Once you accept that the universe is beautiful and meaningful with or without you, you can accept not being a part of it.

 

[robertm]

To me, accepting death is just breaking free of your ego. Once you accept that the universe is beautiful and meaningful with or without you, you can accept not being a part of it.

I greatly approve of the first sentence of this statement, however, I would say that there is no evidence to show that you will ever not be a part of the universe. You can take solace, if you will , in knowing that the atoms that make up the organism you, will continue to actively participate in the universe for quite a long time to come.

 

[Gear300]

Death is cool...just like life...yeah...they're both cool

 

[Gear300]

Granted, I've almost died 7 times...but still If i get hit with death, I want no regrets in the times before I die. Live in the moment type of thing I got going on..no risk no rewards..

You did die 7 times...your consciousness, however, can not perceive the possibility of your death so its entity still lives as information while creating its own reality separate from the one you were in before your near-death experience. In such illusionist realities, you survived. Its sort of like what happened in "The Sixth Sense" but more intense.

 

[leopard]

Age: 23

I don't fear death, but I want to live first. Of course, if I died here and now, I wouldn't care, but it would have been hard to accept that I was going to die within 3 months e.g.

 

[maze]

This whole discussion is framed wrong. Accepting death is not a noble or enlightened thing one should strive for.

 

[leopard]

Why not? You don't have to strive for death to strive for accepting it.

 

[maze]

You are warping your mind and sense of self in order to feel good about a bad situation.

 

[leopard]

No, I'm not. I don't feel good about it, I just don't feel bad about it. Living forever wouldn't have been fun, would it?

 

[maze]

Ok then, you are warping your mind and sense of self to feel not-bad about a bad situation.

 

[WaveJumper]

I am with Einstein on this:

"The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead"

Age 32.

 

[leopard]

Ok then, you are warping your mind and sense of self to feel not-bad about a bad situation.

It's not a bad situation, it's not even a situation.

 

[Renge Ishyo]

Age: 30

I'm chronically ill and have had to come to terms with the idea of death some time ago (and it's impossible to describe the emotional fallout that occurs when a person at any age finally realizes that they are going to die; I'm not talking about when they first think of death as a "distant reality" but when they get that indescribable "feeling" in the body when death finally becomes a concrete fact in the now). Do I "want" it to happen? No, there are still things I wish to do. Will it happen? Yes, I am not in denial. The facts are everywhere.

Death is not all bad, practically the only certainty in my life is death. And knowing at least *something* about the future is sort of comforting sometimes. There have been many times where I have faced a highly stressful situation where I have been able to calm myself by reminding myself that "no matter what I do here, I'll be dead in a little while anyways and in the big picture this really doesn't matter" or there have been other times when I was suffering from my illness and I calmed my body down by reminding myself that "the pain won't be here forever, it will go away when I die." So in a few ways at least, I have found that even death can have a soothing effect.

 

[WraithM]

Hi,

I am 18, and I have not accepted death. I don't like the word "accept." It implies complacency in my mind. I would fight death despite my sort of nihilistic perspective on life. I personally think that life has no intrinsic meaning or purpose, and as per existentialism/objectivism, one needs to define one's own meaning, etc. I think that there is a reason why I fear death or am discomforted by the idea of dying. Nature doesn't want me to die for whatever reason even if the reason doesn't have an ultimate purpose. I don't mean to imply that the natural world has a will, but rather that I have instincts and my brain telling me to survive and propogate, so I'm going to do that.

To sum that mess up, I think that it's a good thing to fear death. Though I have thought about my death and fully realized that I will die one day, I just don't like the idea of letting go or getting rid of stress, anguish, anxiety about death. Those emotions give me a drive to live fully and fight to my dying breath.

Lol, I probably sound crazy there. It's 5 am.

 

[Haibara Ai]

I'm rather young, and I haven't accepted death. Yet I don't fear death.

To fear death is to limit life, and every day is a good day to die. No day is a good day to throw your life away.

Granted, I've almost died 7 times...but still If i get hit with death, I want no regrets in the times before I die. Live in the moment type of thing I got going on..no risk no rewards..

I figure right before I'm about to die I'll reach a new plane of consciousness and be able to understand more than I've ever dreamed of understanding..Something will just like "click" for the long seconds/minutes before I die.

But maybe It'll end so fast I won't get to experience that... who knows?

Everytime I thought I was going to die, I've had a realization in which I was blind to before it. I solved a problem that was bothering me for the longest time once hahaha...

Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

I agree, I don't fear death, and I've nearly died before. Living and dying is the two nessesary things in your life. We've all experienced Living now, so when the time is right, why not just smile and say "I've already experienced Living, now it's time to experience the mysterious death"

 

[leopard]

You don't experience death.

 

[DaveC426913]

You don't experience death.

Thta depends on whther you're talking about the state of death (which lasts forever) or the event of death (which lasts a moment).

I would argue you experience the event of death (even if you're not around to remember it.)

 

[leopard]

You experience the event of death, but there's nothing mysterious about that.

 

[Topher925]

This is a great thread. I find it very intriguing that everyone seems to have so many different points of view and I have not seen a single post that uses religion to explain what death is or define how someone should feel about it (this is a good thing IMO).

I was faced with death earlier this year in March. For still some unknown reason I started to lose my ability to speak, stand, and could not longer see. Long story short, as I laid in a hospital bed convulsing, unable to see or speak and feeling an intense amount of pain throughout my body, I was convinced that I was going to die. I assumed I had some undetected brain tumor or some other illness that would ultimately bring me to my end. However, I didn't really have any feelings or emotions about it and I remember being rather apathetic about the situation. I remember thinking about the things that I wanted to do and all that I wanted to accomplish but in the end, none of that really mattered. I was just another part of the improbable phenomenon in this world that we called life and if I lived or died was not significant. Just another spec of mold on an orange whirling through space.

While I didn't enjoy the experience, I am glad I had it. It changed how my perspective on many things in this world. But if I was to die right now, I would be upset which I suppose is because of my natural instinct to live. And unlike some of you in this thread, I would like to live forever.

 

[WaveJumper]

And unlike some of you in this thread, I would like to live forever.

At what age?


Life is cycle - you are born, you grow up, go to a kindergarten, school, university, marriage, children, work, grandchildren, retirement, death.

How many cycles would it take till you are really really fed up? Would it really be forever? Would the cycle of life seem that incredible the second time, or the 3rd time, or the...

 

[Topher925]

I would around the age I'm at now (23) would be pretty good. But I doubt I will actually be following your "life cycle" as you mentioned. Why couldn't I live forever being something such as an international assassin or a drifter?

 

[WaveJumper]

I would around the age I'm at now (23) would be pretty good. But I doubt I will actually be following your "life cycle" as you mentioned. Why couldn't I live forever being something such as an international assassin or a drifter?

But being an international assassin is not the best recipe for eternal life on Earth in my book. Unless you are a killer of the Terminator type.

 

[Renge Ishyo]

But being an international assassin is not the best recipe for eternal life on Earth in my book. Unless you are a killer of the Terminator type.

Sort of reminds me of a Galaxy Express 999 sort of scenario. If you are not familiar with it, that story was about a young boy who gets promised by an attractive woman that if he goes on a journey with her across the galaxy that she will make it so that he can live forever. At the end of the journey he finds out that he is going to be transformed into a robot and worked forever. That was epic late 70's sci-fi (ahh...the glory days of sci-fi...).