If you were faced with a fork in the road and you knew that if you went left that there would be a beautiful beach waiting at the end of the road, and if you took a right it would lead to an unknown destination, which direction would you choose? It is human nature to gravitate toward what we know than not. When I think of the common quote, “fear of the unknown”, I am most likely to relate it to death and the afterlife.
Humans fear what they are not familiar with. We have been conditioned to believe in only what we can see and tactilely feel. Yes, Heaven is referred to hundreds of times in the Bible, the priest at mass speaks of Jesus descending from Heaven, and people refer to Heaven when talking to friends, BUT no one has the proof that we have become accustomed to having when proving that life goes on after death and that causes fear about dieing.
To comfort and ease the fear of death, books, movies, and plays have all been written to explain, help or alleviate the apprehension we feel toward death. Movies, such as, “Heaven Can Wait”, about a man who is reincarnated (through many mishaps) as a famous football star raised the question; when we die, do we return to earth reincarnated in another form? Then, there is the Christmas play, “The Littlest Angel”, which depicts the life of a child who has died and gone to Heaven, yet doesn’t understand where he is and why, leading him on a journey that will teach him priceless knowledge about the after life. And we cannot leave out, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, with Jimmy Stewart as a down on his luck guy, while contemplating suicide, ends up saving the life of an angel, who in turn gives Stewart’s character a look at what life would have been without him. A true gift for any of us, but lesson learned, life is precious and hey, angels do exist!
Personally, I have to live believing that there is a place that our dearly beloved have passed on to and that I WILL see them again. This not only gives me hope but a sense of peace as well. It’s my way of coping with loss and the fear that comes with the death of someone close to me. If I fear dieing it is because I don’t want to leave the people who love me and me them behind. I don’t doubt that there is an energy about us all that lives on and can be felt by one’s family when we die. I have experienced such feelings with the passing of a sibling. It is comforting and reassuring, but the fear remains subtly in the back of my mind; it’s still the unknown.
