Death is the dark unknown, and this uncertainty and not-knowing leads to our fear of death. Some of us, however, have learned to accept the true cycle of life; that, in order for life to be worth living, there must be some end to it. In this way, we must all learn to acknowledge that true cycle of life so that we no longer fear death and are able to live life to the fullest.
As children, we rarely think about death until death shows its face to us. We may learn about death in a variety of ways. For some of us, it may be the death of a loved one. For others, it may be the death of a first pet. Or, it may be the death of some other person or animal which we never had the chance to know. At any rate, these first instances or experiences of death are not immediately available to us, in the sense that as children, we cannot fully realize what death’s role in our lives is.
It is not until we grow to young adulthood that we measure our life by the clock that ticks. For some of us, the notion of death and its desirability may come because we feel like unwanted teenagers. For others, the notion of death does not come until we have ended our “partying years” and have settled down. For still others, the notion of death does not come until we have found our “soul mate.”
Throughout much of our lives, we are haunted by the image of death. We think of it as the end to everything we enjoy. We don’t want to lose our family, our friends, and everything in between. Most of us, if not all of us, know that we would rather be alive than dead.
But, those who do not fear death are thinking about it in an entirely different manner. They do not see death as an end, but the beginning to another life phase. They see an existence that is communicated in a physical body. But also, they see a second, “after”-existence that is communicated in another way of living, whatever that may be. However these unfearing people see death, the most important observation to be made is that they love life as they live it.
Essentially, humans are puzzled with time. Time, death, and life are intricately related and we often want to transgress the boundaries of time and death. The unfortunate fact is that we cannot do so. Thus, the only path that we can take is life. If we want to “transgress” time and death, we must focus on life as we live it. By doing so, we do not waste time thinking about time and death. We enjoy ourselves, our loved ones, the beautiful Earth, and everything in between.
