I know I’ve written about this before, but here’s the thing, we’re all going to die. Might be today, might be in thirty years, but death comes to everyone. Avoiding the topic, pretending it won’t happen won’t stop it. There is no cheating death. If you look at death as failure than all of life is a losing battle. If instead you accept the fact that life has an unknown endpoint and give up trying to stop deat from happening, you can spend that energy on things that are life fulfilling.
So much of our medical system is based on staving off death; patients and doctors alike are reluctant to talk about mortality. Many people don’t receive the full benefits of hospice care, because no one will discuss with them the fact that they are dying. We don’t talk about death with our loved ones who are dying because we don’t want to upset them.The truth is, many people who are dying want to talk about it, but don’t because they fear upsetting their loved ones, so people suffer in silence.
Whether you die quickly or slowly, whether by accident, illness, murder, suicide or any other cause, you will die. So, instead of worrying about how and when it will happen, why not live? Why not live fully now? As Leslie Feinberg once said, “Live each day as if your hair was on fire.”
Talk about death. Talk about what you want when you’re dying. Talk about what you want done with your body after death. Take the stigma out of it. One day you will return to the nothingness from which you came. All your worry, panic, hoarding of love and money won’t stop it. Give up the fight and accept life now.
louisetallen 