“Death is nothing to us, for that which is dissolved is without sensation; and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.” – Epicurus
When the time comes, things cease to exist, and what was once alive, be it a leaf or a rose or a person, dies.
Death is just the same for one who died yesterday as for those who died centuries ago. This is the only way to make sense of ‘eternity’: death has no duration at all, for the subject.
The fact that someone is dead is not the fact that he or she is in some mysterious state and is going to be for a very, very long time. Death is not the state of a person. It is ‘nothing to us’ because we no longer exist.
“I wouldn’t mind dying so much if it wasn’t that I would be dead at the end of it.” – Woody Allen
Life is unjust or intolerable. So there must be a better one somewhere else. Or, it is intolerable that the unjust man meets happiness and success, and the just man meets misery and failure. So there must be another arena where justice is restored, which is called the afterlife. However, the death of a child is a more moving event than the death of an adult. But why? Is it because the child enjoyed living more than the adult?’ Is it because the child never enjoyed living? How come life is conceived as enjoyable this time?
“Someone’s death is actually the end of their dying.” – S.E Sever
In many countries, including England and the United States, you would be prosecuted for relieving a person of their terminal suffering. However, you would be prosecuted for not relieving an animal from it. Why does the ‘non-human animal’ deserve better than the ‘human animal’?
we don’t know. before we began to die we knew, and we knew the reason for knowing. then an angel or some say G-d himself pressed a digit to our lip and we forgot.
even what we relearn and remember here we forget. somewhere beyond actively knowing or forgetting it we become inarticulate, but it can be recollected and even better understood (or articulated) here and may again be when we are finished here.
consciousness is unmarked originally. we thrill to the first expression of the infant, but take less notice of the wisdom and the ways of the elderly. everyone is a fool according to his or her own inclination. the wise learn from everyone, but what do they learn?
best is never to have been born. yet it is a very poor thing not to have learned. this is only discernible in life. this is why things appear contrary. in truth justice is everywhere, only we do not see it.
epicurus was a fool and a persistent willful fool, not investigating justice with truth or even knowing pleasure and satisfaction beyond the appetite. his words and his followers appear subtle, but one sees how cheaply they regard consciousness and spirit. who is it? what is it that discerns pleasure or what is wise?
Before I begin my words, which won’t be in any light colors than the topic itself, and this very web page, I must say that “reading to the last word” was a big deal of work.
the reason is obvious and purely human one: No likes the idea of death, nor do I..
With every sentence and every sentiment I’m skimming, including those gloom-buster humorous quotations, I have found serious resistance in me, coming from all about my being flowing through this flesh, and desiring to end up in protesting, refuting letters in the name of heavenly forces, as though, there were any good vs. evil act playing here.. Yet again, just like Woody Allen said, I am not fond of DYING because of the funny promise I wouldn’t buy at the end of it..
Also to my most surprise, sharing the Author’s opinion, with so many unjust things going on in our worlds (in our miserable lives) anything that would suggest DYING has to be DARK and perfectly evil forces, on the other hand, anything that would be ready to FIGHT for this mortal life, to help us hold on the light would be, somehow, unEarthly, angelic forces… this is weird.. if DYING was the door, the gate opening through a perfect world, why the BAD guys are trying to make us FAIL in here, and provoke us to step through that portal in the same time..
Perhaps, this is about our definition of good and evil.. perhaps, the Abrahamic religions might shred valuable light to those who are ready to think about it.. since no one has the experience of such a voyage, or, no one got even “little” disappointment so never cared to return
) we are going to bear with such unorthodox, actually, quite orthodox sources 
I, personally, follow Islam and I believe I have a fair understanding about Death..
Yet, can’t say I had the same kind of fairness with the LIFE, either.. irony? who kows, may be this is part of the game
Nonetheless, no darkened theme and crawling morale didn’t stop our lovely Author from figuring out such an interesting ending — again, we are universal beings, we think of the other creatures, sacrifice our comfort, sometimes, ourselves… but, at the end of the day, we are humans, whose lives will be loved and cared by other humans..
so, ending our lives is not & should not be at our own hands… Like one wise had said before: “your life is not about you”
My best regards…
k.i.
There is infinite darkness before and there is infinite darkness beyond; the tiny sliver of light we call life is the sum total of our understanding of our being. To debate its beginning and end, and to write reams about it, is perhaps missing the whole point. The efficient and creative use of this short timespan renders us either mortals or legends.
As for justice, one mans justice is always another mans injustice. One mans success or failure is always his perception alone.
It is hard to comment on the before life and afterlife simply because we haven’t yet the ability to time travel.
Suffering, ie reliving painful memories or stimuli over and over again, is again time related. One painful stimulus repeated constantly becomes a suffering. Does one terminate the stimulus or the repetition?
kinda pertains to the topic http://tinyurl.com/4rmpsyl
With The Love of Light comes the embrace of the Darkness. One & the same in two different perceptions. 2 different experiences of the same Source. Both experiences, indeed all experiences are remembrance. The choice is equally worthy & beautiful…
We all are emissaries of the Light… Embracing some of its attributes more than others for our own wholeness learning…
The Truth that one lives defines another Truth. This very perception of Death holds one aspect of the Truth. As so, it is relevant. As so, it is respectable and as so it is Life expressing itself.
The disturbed must look at it as a mirror to him/herself, never as a judgment towards the one who feels & express it.
The Beauty about it is how the Dark side seems to disturb whereas, it has always been here to reveal the Light. Whoever is ready to truly discover his/her Truth must without any compromise, stand in it to know.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is a choice. Death is but a stage of an ever-ending process of evolution. The necessary “evil” source of new beginning, spark for renewal and fully part of the consciousness evolution.
All, all experiences have their Truth to Exist for nothing exist but the Truth. The form of the Truth may not always be understood, comprehended or seen. Yet, It is.
In Love, Light and Darkness,
A~
I agree with Aline — we are all to reveal the light and suffering in the process is merely a choice (I think we can be friends) … and if there is something, anything “stupid” or “foolish” enough, it should be searched through within, not in someone else’s philosophy (which I also agree).. but in this very choice.
I do not believe death was specifically designed for nothing, in a universe where death means nothing.. oh yes, thinking otherwise is ultimately stupid. Hope I can bring “little” light into this… err, overly gloomy place — not really very much to my liking
Man -I believe- is a lot DEEPER than the little darkness and shallowness of an abysses. My best regards
Way to go, cheer everyone up for the New Year why don’t you? ‘Happy New Year’, by the way your going to die! Basically life is something that happens. In all honesty it is pretty much in the lap of the Gods, as to what circumstances we are born into. Whether we choose to enjoy the process of life, or not is a different matter. The positive way off looking at death is that we are really just a mass of atoms in a certain condensed form. When we die those atoms still exist, but take on a different random,scattered form.
Personally Cad likes the Buddhist idea of having seven goes at life. So if this life is not that great the next one might be better. Living is the hard part, dieing is automatic. When all is said and done and we take that final breath, all we have mentally to show for living is a collection of memories, try to make them good ones.
With regard ending a loved ones suffering this is a very difficult one. Best not do it until at least 3 or 4 years into the marriage, and only then if you have a good alibi.
For more up lifting help and advice on the subject of life read Cads latest book. ‘Life a series of disappointments followed by death.’
I agree with Kunter: I think we can be Friends… Also coming back to this note about Death, Death is meant for what it make the one who considers it defines his/her physical Life. The ultimate experience. Defining a Life out of the possibility of no-Life.
Kunter, best Regards with Love
Host: worst ones with Love…
A~
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” Forget about the Death, let’s see what we are “bringing” toward it, after which, there would somethings be too late
That the strong “unjust” winds our deserts blow unto us are perhaps merely decorations, part of the game (game for us / otherwise quite real to be a game). As one of my loveliest and most spirited friends say, “Stand up and boldly be who you are, never let the circumstances dictate who you would be!”. No matter what the miserable conditions, it is after “this death” deeds would be called “good deeds” under such circumstances..
OK – waiting for our Author to respond
D forget the death, it is nothing to us. Life is Good as long as deeds are good.
if this Twitter account attached to this website holds a realistic picture, “she” is the very (fiery!) reason for NOT being gone to anywhere
Life is not a tiny sliver of light between darkness. Life is a brilliant lighthouse on the shores.
The death of a child is worthy of disproportionate mourning- rightfully- because it reveals the moral human fear of wasted capacity. Life and our ability to thrive in its provided & explored experience requires great capacity all mankind know we share; a child being barred from exploring it strikes every human soul, deeply, rightfully, as a vast injustice to all we know what is.
I don’t consider death as any more than the inevitability it is(to eventually bear the sheol to which we all shall succumb), and find it irrelevant how often death considers me. Life is for the living, and that is all I have sensed God has asked me to apply. I am too fucking young to have a mind to waste my self.
That said, all the wisdom anyone need acquire on meditations of death are in the Hagakure.
“There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking.”
My answers, if ever i have some, woulb be :
- The death of a child is sad because a child hasn’t had the opportunity to really enjoy and experience life, to grow up, to feel pain and joy, to accomplish great things or make mistakes, to wonder why we are all here and start to find answers….The death of a child is also the death of our own innocence.
-In our western society human life is more valuable than animal life. It’s a fact, right or wrong. Relieving an animal from pain has nothing to do with relieving a human being. First because the law is here to protect from abuses. If a psycho relieves from pain 10 cats, he is just a psycho and nobody cares. If a psycho relieves from pain 10 old people, he is a killer. Is it always dangerous to give to people de ability to play with human life because they might, at some point, start to think that they are god. Our nature tels us to preserve life and not destroy it because we always have the hope that some days we’ll find a cure, a treatment… And so we don’t like to let it go.
I believe we are nothing more than cognitively reassembled creatures intent on making meaning out of things.
Thank you for all your comments.
Here is another dilemma for our accelerating brains >>
http://planetdearth.com/se-s-mutterings/who-murdered-the-old-man
excellent work love — very deep and provocative — the bit about the death of a child is eye opening. Never thought about it that way!