Death... it is inevitable and yet most of us choose to ignore it. Infact in some cultures, death is depicted as taboo, bringer of bad luck etc.
According to the Human Development Report (published by United Nations Development Programme, UNDP), the average life expectancy of a typical Malaysian is about 73 years. Of course, if you look at it, 73 years is a long time (provided you didn't get hit by an on-coming vehicle while trying to avoid a pothole!). But if you translate that into weeks, that would be approximately 3,800 weeks. Now imagine how many times a week just flashed through our lives. At the rate I'm going (that is, if all goes well with my health and I don't have to go through that pot hole incident), I have approximately 2,290 weeks to go.
Why are we scared of death? It is inevitable.... it will come... everyone will experience it, no exceptions.
Perhaps we are not sure of life after death?
Perhaps we are not ready to meet the grim reaper, the angel of death?
Perhaps we have no faith in heaven and hell?
Perhaps we are scared of being reborn in a form of a cockroach?
p/s: oh yes, it is already mid week...
Ouch..it doesn't sound long at all to me. Do I fear death? Yes. It's the thought of being all alone in the dark, dark grave, being questioned of your deeds, of not knowing whether you'll be going to a good place in the after life or all those library books you haven't returned (and have admittedly misplaced) will somehow tip the scales against you.
And also: there's still so much I want to do!
ps: Assuming you've lived this long and haven't encountered a pothole yet - your life is indeed blessed, dear KaZ! :-)
Posted by: Zsarina | Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 20:27
It's not Death I fear... just the actual dying process, I hear it's painful.. :P
Posted by: Sashi | Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 21:18
Zsarina: Oh, I have encountered many potholes, which left my sports rims cursing me everytime I drive... just that i havent encountered (and avoided) any life threatening potholes! :p
Sashi: If you cant beat it... u just have to bear with it.
Posted by: KaZ | Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 22:38
Perhaps it's complacency - when things are good and we're still breathing, we don't think about how easy it is for our bodies to fail, for that seemingly simple act of a heartbeat to just silently fade into a flatline...
Like you said, we ALL have to face it. Thanks for reminding me.
Posted by: Najah | Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 23:44
Like Sashi, it's not actually dying that I'm afraid of, but more of a how-I-die thing. I've always felt that I would die in a car accident but let's hope I'm wrong!!
Posted by: Sara | Friday, June 18, 2004 at 16:13
Using the figure 73, I only have 1092 weeks to go. For simplicity, let us just say 1000 Fridays to go. That is the reason why I will try not to miss any Friday's ibadah.
Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: Adib | Friday, June 18, 2004 at 19:14
I know thirty's not old, but not too long before my thirtieth birthday I found myself becoming acutely aware of the passing of time. Perhaps that should be chronically aware, because it's always in the back of my mind. It's true, those weeks pass by very quickly. How can I be thirty now?
We Canadians have a slightly higher average life expectancy (something like 74.3 years for men), but there's a lot of crap in my family tree: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.....inshallah I'll make it to at least the 'average' mark. Not sure how many weeks that is, but they're ticking by. There goes another one.
Posted by: jordan | Friday, June 18, 2004 at 22:53
Death Experinces
According to what you have been taught, you are composed of physical matter and cannot escape it, and this is NOT so. The physical matter will disintegrate but you will not.
I can assure you that death is another beginning. You have lived before and you will live again, and when you are done with physical existence, you will still live.
I want you to feel your own vitality. Feel it travel through the universe and know that it is not dependent upon your physical image.
In certain terms, you are all dead and have been for centuries. In other terms you are not yet born and centuries will come before you walk upon the surface of the earth.
Life implies death, and death implies life--that is, in the terms of your world. You could not die unless you were the kind of creature who was born, nor could you have a present moment as you consider it.
Your body is aware of the fact of its death at birth, and of its birth at its death, for all of its possibilities for action take place in the area between.
Death is therefore as creative as birth, as necessary for action and consciousness, in your terms.
Posted by: mwt | Sunday, June 20, 2004 at 05:52