Death

Humans have developed an unhealthy attachment to life. Through this attachment to life comes a fear of death. Through the fear of death people make choices that keep them from fully living their lives. For the sake of personal, societal, and planetary health we need to re-adjust our relationship to death.

Death is a part of life, not the opposite of it. Death does not have to be mourned, but rather can be an opportunity to celebrate a life well lived. Sadly though, most lives are not well lived due to a wide variety of fears that, if you take the time to explore them, boil down to a fear of death. I can’t tell you how many people I have helped to see that they fear life because they fear death. If you think about it, existential fears are fears of existence. Is existence something to be feared, or something to be celebrated?

If we focus on living our lives fully, freely and fearlessly, while finding and fulfilling our “truth”, or our dharma, or our passion, or our mission, or whatever you want to call it, we will live until we feel a sense of completion, and then we will be ready to die. Why, if you feel great about your life and what you have done here, would you want to continue with diminishing capacity and increasing pain and discomfort? Why, if you’ve decided you’ve had enough and are ready to check out, does society feel  it has the right to deny you a happy and easy death? Might we expand “Pro-Choice” to include the right to die when you want to?

There are too many people on the planet, and one reason for this is how long people are staying alive due to medical interventions. So many lives are extended far beyond their natural length because of Western medicine making prolonging life a priority over quality of life. What if we were all taught, from birth, that we all have a time to die, and when it comes, we embrace it as the next step on our path.

Maybe it will be our last step, maybe not, but if there is a something after death it is highly likely that whatever it is might only be improved by living very well while you are here, taking advantage of this amazing opportunity of life you have been given, rather then squandering it by denying opportunities out of fear, and clinging to life as long as you can.

When it is time to die, couldn’t we provide a way to die with pleasure  and dignity? If someone wants a natural death, fine, but if someone has had enough, and is ready to go, could we not provide them with a wonderful way to go? Couldn’t we provide a enjoyable and beautiful way to die? Wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate your life with your loved ones then gracefully and peacefully check out?

And must we let the fear of loneliness, and feelings of loss, keep us from encouraging our loved one’s to go when it is time, instead of wanting them to continue a life they are not enjoying, for you? This has nothing to do with love, just more unhealthy attachment.

Finally, when we are gone, could we honor the body by burying it in the dirt and letting it rot and nourish life as opposed to trying to preserve it with chemicals and a casket, or by burning it? I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want my last act to be polluting the planet a little bit more.