Your Death

[Harke the Boeotarch]

I.
Death is here and death is there,
Death is busy everywhere,
All around, within, beneath,
Above is death—and we are death.

II.
Death has set his mark and seal
On all we are and all we feel,
On all we know and all we fear,

...

III.
First our pleasures die—and then
Our hopes, and then our fears—and when
These are dead, the debt is due,
Dust claims dust—and we die too.

IV.
All things that we love and cherish,
Like ourselves must fade and perish;
Such is our rude mortal lot--
Love itself would, did they not.


Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

[Centipede]

Nope.

I only hope it comes at an appropriate time because my life at the moment is loved too much to even have the luxury of thinking about my end. I've taken care of all my funeral expenses for that same reason.

 

[NotHardUp1]

...are you thinking about it?

Often.

I have the sense that it is approaching. It doesn't scare me, nor have I had a premonition.

I've done a lot of things in my life, not always succeeded, but I tried. And I tried to help people, which worked sometimes, sometimes not. In the end, I think we should be at peace if we try.

But I live my days with the belief that next year probably will not come. It has made me more content in a way. Go figure.

 

[zoltanspawn]

I saw this today and thought it was sort of interesting.

I.
Death is here and death is there,
Death is busy everywhere,
All around, within, beneath,
Above is death—and we are death.

II.
Death has set his mark and seal
On all we are and all we feel,
On all we know and all we fear,

...

III.
First our pleasures die—and then
Our hopes, and then our fears—and when
These are dead, the debt is due,
Dust claims dust—and we die too.

IV.
All things that we love and cherish,
Like ourselves must fade and perish;
Such is our rude mortal lot--
Love itself would, did they not.


Percy Bysshe Shelley

Hardly Shelley's finest moment
Rhyming like a chewing rodent.

 

[Rickrock]

That video was slightly unsettling but also reasonably practical. Thank you for showing us. I am not sure what to think about it.

 

[Charon]

I'm too young to be thinking about it now.

 

[eastofeden]

I am not afraid of it...but I think about it sometimes.

I am afraid of not living my life as I intended and being true to myself. If I didn't do that...THEN I would be afraid of dying.

 

[Kabluey]

Nope.

I only hope it comes at an appropriate time because my life at the moment is loved too much to even have the luxury of thinking about my end. I've taken care of all my funeral expenses for that same reason.

Yikes!
I still feel too young to think about that, and I'm older than you

 

[peeonme]

It's not like a ride at Cedar Point (a huge amusement park with thrill rides) where you size it up and decide if you have the proper sperm makers to get on it.
It (death) is inevitable, it stalks us. I have come close on more than one occasion. Death actually became a reality to me at the age of 9 when my dad died, he was 57 at the time. It smacked me in the face and spit on me at that time.

So I know full well that it looms and lurks, casting it's net and one day I will be snared. To fear the unavoidable to me would be folly, it might come in a day when I will welcome it, when I need relief from pain and a lack of dignity, it might be sweet.

 

[FPNY]

what's the old saying? I want to go in my sleep like my grandfather did, not like the terrified passengers in the back of his car.....

 

[kallipolis]

Death makes a return appearance to remind us that all here will savour its touch...leading us to the final exit.

Someone notable said that it is best to die young, as late as possible. I'm working on it.

 

[spooky]

...are you thinking about it?

I'm trying to get over the fear of it. I try not to think of it though. :0

 

[kallipolis]

Death paid a visit to an Italian friend a few days ago. Gianni was a gifted photographer, and linguist who made a living out of his gifts. He would have celebrated his 51st birthday on the 10th December. I met him when he was sweet 15 and determined to bed me. I was sufficiently rewarded with his friendship without needing to fuck with him. I'll miss Gianni for his entertaining way of reminding me that his loneliness, in the company of so many friends was his choice.

 

[Kyanimal]

I am not afraid of Death, having been around it all of my life. (I think) I remember seeing my first dead body when I was 3. Our landlord died in his bed, downstairs. His name was Albert. He was a bus driver.

I'm a Preacher's Kid, so funerals, and funeral homes, were part of my upbringing. And, by now, I've lost relatives (including my youngest sister), friends, neighbors, and even the youngest of the three nephews that Kev and I helped raise.

There have been times that I've contemplated hastening my own demise, but then I think, since it's inevitable, why not stick around to see how "The Rest Of The Story" plays out? It's not like it's Not going to happen.

It's often said that, "So-and-so died.", as though it was an action that they took. If it wasn't a case of suicide, it's not something that they DID. It's something that Happens to us ... ALL of Us.

LIFE can be FAR more Scary than Death! Sometimes Death can be a Blessed Relief!

Death is nothing to fear! It can be a Regret, when we lose someone. But, when it comes to ourselves, whether we accomplished everything we wanted to, or not, it won't really mean much, to us, since we'll be dead.

Is there a form of "Existence" after we die? Many believe so, but none of us really Know, for sure. And, what about Reincarnation? Is Death an END or a START?

The SURE thing is we'll ALL find out, eventually.

Just more reasons to ... for NOW ... No Matter What ...

Keep Smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[dpnice]

..............................The SURE thing is we'll ALL find out, eventually.

...................

That is what has always frustrated me; the fact that we will only know what follows after death if, in fact, there is an afterlife.

If there is nothing after death there will not be that moment of enlightenment when we can cry in superiority "I told you there wasn't a God".

 

[tarallucci]

After that I've finished worrying about how atrociously I might die, I actually begin to wonder whether there will be another stage or nothing at all. So in a way I am also kind of curious about death other than concerned, finding out what's behind all this. But I would be fine in each case, while the eternal nothingness is not a bad idea I'm sure that I would easily climb my way up from purgatory

Let's just say that this curiosity of mine can definitely wait for now

 

[rareboy]

Hardly Shelley's finest moment
Rhyming like a chewing rodent.

Pretty much this.

 

[kallipolis]

That is what has always frustrated me; the fact that we will only know what follows after death if, in fact, there is an afterlife.

If there is nothing after death there will not be that moment of enlightenment when we can cry in superiority "I told you there wasn't a God".

This is one of your more entertaining posts. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

 

[zoltanspawn]

If there is nothing after death there will not be that moment of enlightenment when we can cry in superiority "I told you there [STRIKE]wasn't a God[/STRIKE]".

Or maybe more precisely, "I told you there wasn't an afterlife."

It could be that there is a god, and no afterlife. Or it could be that there is an afterlife, and no god. Theologians and religious people have different takes on this.

 

[NotHardUp1]

That is what has always frustrated me; the fact that we will only know what follows after death if, in fact, there is an afterlife.

If there is nothing after death there will not be that moment of enlightenment when we can cry in superiority "I told you there wasn't a God".

On the other hand, there won't be a host of the living watching when the erstwhile mellow metaphysicist stares at the Gates of Hell and blurts out, "Wow, man! Baaaad karma!"

After that I've finished worrying about how atrociously I might die, I actually begin to wonder whether there will be another stage or nothing at all. So in a way I am also kind of curious about death other than concerned, finding out what's behind all this. But I would be fine in each case, while the eternal nothingness is not a bad idea I'm sure that I would easily climb my way up from purgatory

Let's just say that this curiosity of mine can definitely wait for now

Although I believe there is life after death, I'm not curious about it, and frequently am amused that the anti-religious scorn religion and credit its adherents with being "kept in line" by fear of punishment.

Society in many cultures has moved on, including even the Christian Fundamentalists, and it happened in the 20th century. The devout are devout because they believe the teachings (philosophy) of the religion and its sages, which certainly includes the hereafter but really spends all its time teaching on the day-to-day aspects of life.

For mine own part, I trust in the day having enough cares for the day, and I am disinterested in the endless speculations on the hereafter. I view space exploration and astrophysics with similar limited curiosity, as we won't reach any new planets in my lifetime, so I find it more consuming to be focused on Earth and humanity. It's not that I fear or disbelieve there can be anything "out there," only that we've learned enough about space to realize, if we are honest, that our ability to actually explore other galaxies is centuries away. Even then, we have no reason to believe the first ones reached will have anything more in them than other brutal planets inhospitable to life such as the gang that encircles our own sun.

The posting about death stalking us provoked me as well. As fun as the personification of death is, I think it more an immutable law of the universe, like thermodynamics. The first time I flew a long flight cross-country, I loved the view of terrain, but was constantly aware that death was flying along just below the plane, not as a threat, but more of a mathematical reality. If anything were to got awry at 30,000 feet, there was almost certainly death awaiting for all of us. It didn't intimidate me in any way.

If we eat spoiled food, cross the street negligently, antagonize a killer, or go rock climbing, the security net can be gone in an instant and we'll slip into death as surely as a baby bird that falls from the nest into the water. It's just how the planes of life and death are positioned. Be aware, not afraid.