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takethisforexampleI've been thinking about death again recently. Not in a bad way, just in a mindful way. Things have been going well in life recently and I think I'm the happiest I've been since I was a young child. I don't think that the consistency of my mood and lifestyle have made me complacent. Rather, I have the clearance to confront sensitive ideas in a healthy way, death being one of them.
Most people of faith (or even just in general) believe that the soul is separate to the body. That spirits and souls are separate from a physical existence, and they will be preserved or "recycled" after death. I don't care much for popular beliefs about reincarnation or things of that nature, nor do I believe in Heaven or miracles or manifestation. But I do believe that humans are great storytellers who can find meaning in everything, especially if it helps them cope with something scary. And what, to a human, is scarier than death? Spirituality is rooted in both the wonder and fear of human beings, to offer an explanation where there isn't one, and to rationalize life's most critical and powerful moments. It is human nature.
This is not a justification of spirituality, and it does not reflect my general thoughts on the subject. Even if it "works", I believe that religion and superstition have historically done more harm than good. But they are examples of this human need, this unrelenting desire to find meaning and to make peace with the unknown. I feel that there are healthy ways to accept the unknown. Not clear explanations maybe, but mindsets rooted in truth. When it comes to death, I personally find comfort in the idea of energy cycles. Maybe it requires a dash of embellishment, since it's a pretty straightforward explanation of the relationships between organisms and their environments. The world is one big terrarium, a huge and complex bubble where life flourishes and festers. Energy is a shared thing, a commonality of all life, and in the wake of death it nourishes and creates new life. As I exist now, I contribute in something I find quite beautiful. I am merely an allocation of energy that will someday cease to exist, but what matters is the time that I have now. So much time to share and experience this existence with all the other life on this planet. And one day, when I die, my body and my thoughts and all my energy will return to the world to create new life. I have no real hopes for what happens to my body after death, as I have already found consolation in having my energy feeding back into that cycle.
I think about all I've done in life and all I still want to do, and weigh that in with the overarching purpose I have decided to be mine on this rock, and I feel satisfied. I don't want to die soon, but I've come to terms with how the world works. I've been able, very recently, to sit back and wonder when my time will be, and that doesn't plague me. I feel that even at this age, I have been able to create and feel enough love for my life to have paid off. I guess what I'm saying is that if I died suddenly at a young age, I would want the people in my life to know that I lived a good one. My energy will become something else, and I want that to be celebrated, not mourned. I won't be there to see it anyways. If my final moments are painful, they are painful. If it happens swiftly, so be it. I'm okay with it. Death, really, is a part of life. And it is a necessity to life. It isn't something worth being scared of anymore.
Although, I guess if I had the choice, I would want my body laid out or buried up in those beautiful fields on Mt. Rainier. Then, I'd become a bunch of wildflowers, and that would be pretty cool.
Most people of faith (or even just in general) believe that the soul is separate to the body. That spirits and souls are separate from a physical existence, and they will be preserved or "recycled" after death. I don't care much for popular beliefs about reincarnation or things of that nature, nor do I believe in Heaven or miracles or manifestation. But I do believe that humans are great storytellers who can find meaning in everything, especially if it helps them cope with something scary. And what, to a human, is scarier than death? Spirituality is rooted in both the wonder and fear of human beings, to offer an explanation where there isn't one, and to rationalize life's most critical and powerful moments. It is human nature.
This is not a justification of spirituality, and it does not reflect my general thoughts on the subject. Even if it "works", I believe that religion and superstition have historically done more harm than good. But they are examples of this human need, this unrelenting desire to find meaning and to make peace with the unknown. I feel that there are healthy ways to accept the unknown. Not clear explanations maybe, but mindsets rooted in truth. When it comes to death, I personally find comfort in the idea of energy cycles. Maybe it requires a dash of embellishment, since it's a pretty straightforward explanation of the relationships between organisms and their environments. The world is one big terrarium, a huge and complex bubble where life flourishes and festers. Energy is a shared thing, a commonality of all life, and in the wake of death it nourishes and creates new life. As I exist now, I contribute in something I find quite beautiful. I am merely an allocation of energy that will someday cease to exist, but what matters is the time that I have now. So much time to share and experience this existence with all the other life on this planet. And one day, when I die, my body and my thoughts and all my energy will return to the world to create new life. I have no real hopes for what happens to my body after death, as I have already found consolation in having my energy feeding back into that cycle.
I think about all I've done in life and all I still want to do, and weigh that in with the overarching purpose I have decided to be mine on this rock, and I feel satisfied. I don't want to die soon, but I've come to terms with how the world works. I've been able, very recently, to sit back and wonder when my time will be, and that doesn't plague me. I feel that even at this age, I have been able to create and feel enough love for my life to have paid off. I guess what I'm saying is that if I died suddenly at a young age, I would want the people in my life to know that I lived a good one. My energy will become something else, and I want that to be celebrated, not mourned. I won't be there to see it anyways. If my final moments are painful, they are painful. If it happens swiftly, so be it. I'm okay with it. Death, really, is a part of life. And it is a necessity to life. It isn't something worth being scared of anymore.
Although, I guess if I had the choice, I would want my body laid out or buried up in those beautiful fields on Mt. Rainier. Then, I'd become a bunch of wildflowers, and that would be pretty cool.
