Lipstick Lounge

In yoga the other night, this topic came up and we were talking about it.

It is the only thing in life that is a for sure event that will take place.

I will admit, I haven't really thought about it too much. There is a book I want to look into buying that is along the lines of this.

Thoughts?

I wouldn't say that I'm afraid to die exactly. I think a lot of the fear that people feel about death is fear of the unknown. But I have very firm beliefs about what happens when people die ... and I can say with 100% confidence that I believe that nothing happens. I do not believe in anything metaphysical which would include a soul or anything like it. I do not believe that there is anything to me more than the physical cells that make up my body and the energy that animates it. And I don't believe it's some kind of spiritual or metaphysical energy -- I believe it's energy in the sense that lighting and electricity are energy. Once my body breaks down so much that it can no longer function, I will die. Everything that makes up me will be redistributed. And I don't mean my soul or spirt will join the vast pool of souls or something -- I mean that my body will rot and provide nourishment for worms and maybe plants and that's it. Since I won't be around to notice, I don't think there's anything to be afraid of.

I don't wish for "something more," the way a lot of religious people seem to think I must. I'm so thrilled with the way that life is and the way it all came to be! I think this quote perfectly expresses how I feel about it:

"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." Carl Sagan

But ... I like my life. Even when I'm feeling some kind of negative emotion, I'm still always glad that I'm alive. And I don't suspect I'll ever really feel differently about that. So I don't fear death exactly. And I don't think about it often. But when I do think about it, I think dread would be a more accurate word for how I feel about it than fear.

I don't wish for "something more," the way a lot of religious people seem to think I must. I'm so thrilled with the way that life is and the way it all came to be!

-As someone who does (to a degree) believe in an afterlife and who does believe in a soul - that maybe that there is "something more" for the soul after death, I really think what you're saying here is really great. 

I mean, regardless of whether or not one believes in death as a spiritual occurance (in a religious sense), the idea that your body would give back to the earth and land that you once inhabited/used is actually a really cool thing.  I think it's insane that anyone would try to convince you otherwise with thoughts of "wishing for something more" - obviously, to each their own, but I think this point-of-view is very interesting and realistic. 

I agree with Kate, I am afraid of dying prematurely because I still have so much to live for. But I'm not afraid of what will happen to me when I die, if that's what you mean. And I'm not afraid to admit that I don't know what will happen when I die.

At the same time, I am afraid of growing old and losing my dignity before dying and I'm also afraid of a slow, painful death.

But greater than all of that is my fear that one of my loved ones will die prematurely. I don't think I would handle that very well at all.