Death and Dying

I received a comment recently about how all my posts seem to come down to death and dying. Granted, it is somewhat of an obsession of mine (and I have never been labeled as a Goth by myself or others), however, what occurred to me is not, "Why do I always think about death?" but rather, "Why don't others think about it more?"

We are a culture of eternal youth and living forever. Everyone wants to be young forever-or at least ascribe to a philosophy that promises life everlasting. Just look at our obsession with plastic surgery, even to the point of having TV shows about it! There is an enormous amount of research going into studying aging. In this past century life expectancy has increased greatly, and even the quality of life has improved for those who do reach venerable ages (at least in this part of the world). My own great-grandmother was cracking jokes at her hundredth birthday party. The number of centenarians is also increasing, and we are promised that soon everyone will live to be a hundred.

This is the norm. No one questions it, of course, because it's normal. So when someone does something that is not normal, like talking about death a lot in a life-centered society, they are considered to be abnormal. It doesn't bother me much to be considered abnormal, as if there's something wrong with thinking about death a lot. I'd rather be counter-culture anyway; I always have been, I always will be. Even Rollo May believes that the artists of our times are canaries of sorts, singing loudly to warn the people of impending danger.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: people are afraid of death. I am no different than others, but I choose to live my life courageously by facing it. I don't believe we can ignore its importance. Death is the other side of the coin to life. It is only by struggling with this unknowable certainty that we can truly live.

"As you struggle with the mystery of your death, you will discover the meaning of your life." -M. Scott Peck [Further Down the Road Less Traveled]

For further reading: Elizabeth Kubler-Ross On Death and Dying and M. Scott Peck The Road Less Travelled