Death is the final, inevitable journey all who live must take. Unlike any other trips that are planned, there is no set timetable or itinerary available, it will just happen, for we know not the hour or the moment. If we as humans fear death, that unknown element is the biggest cause of our fear. Without foreknowledge, we are ill-equipped to deal with that final event.
Some fortunate people with strong beliefs in an afterlife may accept death as the necessary progression into eternal life and a happy-ever-after. That is a wonderful, sustaining, hopeful belief which can effectively dilute that fear of the unknown. Yet nobody has really returned to inform humanity of such an afterlife; it remains a matter of faith. That faith is a comfort, which, coupled with living a good life, should ensure a happy eternity, so making death an accepted rite of passage.
Along with fear of the unknown, the trappings of death often bring dread and terror. The works of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, the un-dead myths of vampires, the whole horror genre of literature, combine to make dying a thing of terror and violence, somehow ultimately inhuman. Darkness and gloom, tears and sorrow, loss and loneliness, pain and suffering, are all closely linked to dying, so it is little wonder we fear death.
We fear the loss of those we love, as we know that final journey means we will never touch or hold them again, at least in this life. We fear the pain that loss brings, and the enormous efforts we must make to overcome it. We fear that death really is the end of our intrinsic selves, something we value most highly. We fear to leave life behind, for when we are alive, we have a promise of greater things to strive for. With death, we just do not know what lies ahead.
Death is inevitable, whether we fear it or not. Perhaps to view it as yet another great adventure, an exciting journey into the unknown, a chance of renewal, is the best way to allay the fear. As the Buddhist faith teaches, we may return to complete what we left undone, or to make reparation for what we should not have done. We may return to the stars, or dance upon the mountain top, as Gibran intimated. What we are will never die, we will only be in another dimension – maybe. There is nothing to fear but fear itself, yet we are only human. If we can live life to the fullest and accept death as part of life, then we can reduce the fear and embrace the unknown with some level of peace and tranquility.
