Remember That You Must Die
By: Pablo Gamboa
A specter haunts us all, it is the specter of death. It looms over you constantly, it could harvest you at any moment — a stroke, a heart attack, a stray bullet, or maybe cancer. You face the possibility of death coming when you least expect it. You live knowing it will come soon but not exactly when. You face the possibility of lingering on for years fearing when the scythe reaps you while you have your morning coffee on a bright cloudless day. This applies to us and to our loved ones. Remember that everything that will happen to you can happen to those you care for, too. Our true fears stem from death, not always our own, but that of those we care for. Grief is when it’s incomprehensible that others may leave us before we leave them. Imagine the sudden death of your mother, your father, your partner, your best friend — to know that they’re gone, then what?
What is it about death that makes us fearful? The unknown? What will happen to us in the afterlife? Is there even an afterlife? Are you destined for the joys of heaven or for hell and eternal damnation, or are you meant for total darkness and nothingness? Do you fear death because of the ties that bind us to this material world? Your loved ones, your work, all that you own, and your physical being? Are you just scared of the pain? The separation of our consciousness from this reality, to be ripped out of this existence, how agonizing would that be?
Fundamentally, death is the most philosophical topic. Two things happen to every human: You are born and then you die. We all know that it will happen to us and that’s all we know. We lack the sensory tools to be able to understand it any further than that. Our material bodies have an expiry date and you can either deny death or become one with it. To see death for what it is is what you should strive for.
Frankly, you don’t think about death enough. The reason why you’re afraid of it is that you’re not comfortable confronting your mortality. Instead of fearing their death, why not celebrate life, enjoy it, live it with others. It’s not the painful situations that cause us the most grief, but it’s our thoughts — and that, you can control. You must understand death as a natural part of life. Death is a return to what you once were before you were born.
As you contemplate your mortality, consider how you use your most valued resource — time. Have you really lived? Have you done all you want to do? Have you gone to that restaurant? Have you asked that person out? Have you written that book that you have up there in your mind? Have you achieved all that you want to achieve? Now that you know death can strike anytime, you understand how fleeting life is. Do what you want to do so that when the time comes, you know you have lived.
Now you come face to face with Death. How do you face Death with equanimity? Are you comforted by the thought of oblivion and nothingness, or would you rather believe in an afterlife? What would give meaning to your life and your death and that of others, too? Have you found meaning in yourself? Do you decide what you are, what you amount to, or do you believe that a higher being does that for you? From our vantage point today, it is all the same. There is no way of knowing for sure if there is anything next. So, you must decide for yourself. The answer you seek cannot be found logically but is arrived at by faith. Faith isn’t only for those who believe in an afterlife and a return to a creator, but it can also be for those who believe in nothing. There is no way of proving anything, so their conclusion requires as much belief as it takes for one who has faith in an almighty. Since there is no way of knowing, just view this as a theatrical experience. You’ve already gone so far, so why not see it until the end then ask yourself, “What’s next?” In the finale, it comes down to you. Do you anticipate entering the shining golden gates in the sky or are you ready for sweet nothingness or even a possible rebirth? Only you can answer that question.
“You want to live — but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying — but tell me, is the kind of life you are leading really different from being dead?”
— Seneca