People have various beliefs and views about death and dying and the responses to the end of life vary from individual to individual. Even within the same cultural and religious groups not everyone views death the same. Not two people grieve in the same way. Death is and has always been a mystery in every culture and era throughout history. From the day we become aware of ourselves and the world around us we realize that everything comes to an end. Plants, animals, day, night, seasons and people are not exempt from this natural order. Religions, philosophies, literature, art, music etc has tried to encapsulate this experience and provide answers to the human condition. Death is feared by many and celebrated by others. Some view it as the end, others as another beginning. No matter what our belief is, one thing is for sure, on the day we die a lot of things will happen. Nothing will remain the same. The world won't stand still of course. But we won't be attending any of the important appointments and arrangements we made. The many ideas, dreams and plans we had yet to complete will remain forever undone. We won't need the calendar or diary or smartphone anymore to dictate and remind us our next move. Clothes, money, property, furniture, cars etc and whatever we worked hard for will swap hands. We won't care anymore about the criticisms and judgements that people put on us. We won't be answering any messages and texts. Calls will go unanswered. Nothing will be urgent anymore. We won't worry about our waistline or hairline or frown lines or our image, and reputation. All the anxieties, the pain and depression, the panic attacks and suffering that stole sleep from us will be rendered powerless. But, above all, on the day that we die, the few people who really know and truly love us will grieve deeply. They will feel a void. A part of them will died as well. I know this from those I love and grieve over. So I try to remember that my time is finite and I do my best not to waste a second of it. I don't want to be robbed of the joy of living NOW with those who love me and want only to share it with me. I don’t want to miss the chance to laugh, sing, dance with them, while I can. Yes, we all going to die one day. But before that day comes let us live, every day, every moment. Mental anxiety, depression and sadness, fear, stress, emotional pain can steal our joy and peace and make us truly unhappy and miserable. Let's not let them steal our life away.
