(written by J.G.M. on June 15, 2013)
What could I tell you about death? I wish I could tell you that it is not going to happen to you. But you and I know that the reality is that it is going to happen to you and me. With that being settled, why don’t we explore the many venues related to it?
Let’s start by saying that the fear (apprehension) most human beings experience about death, even just thinking about it, is almost universal, and is not something to make you feel ashamed. If we try to dissect fear, it takes many forms.
It could start with the fear about the unknown. If you are not religious, and I think the profoundly religious also experience it, you could identify with the nagging question… what if? What if everything ends with your life and there is nothing after this end. What if there is nothing or no one waiting for me at the other side? What if all this life that I have just lived had a meaning only for the terrestrial, and there is nothing eternal there for me? What if the purpose for me preparing for the next life did not have any purpose at all?
I think, or it is my hope, that many of us can relate to the previous questions. Whatever is your belief if there is or there is not an afterlife, most of us face these questions at some time in our lives. How do we respond to it or where do they take us, is what possibly is going to mean a difference on how we approach this most universal subject.
Few people can proclaim that they are looking forward to this next step in their lives. For the majority of human beings, there is the doubt, expressed or not, the unanswered question that we have made ourselves, the wondering if this is it?… If there will be something for me on the other side. How would it be then that we can prepare ourselves for this journey, and try to find the answers and peace in our heart for the same?
A journey to the unknown would be frightful, but if we have an idea, an understanding of where it is that we are going, of what is expecting us at this other side, then maybe this will help us in deciphering the questions, in removing the fears, in guiding us through the process, so that we can undergo a peaceful journey to our hearty conclusion.
Here someone could insert the concept of how faith will play a major role for those who have a strong belief (and hope) for an eternal life. But what about all those people who have weak faith or no faith at all. Don’t they deserve the same consideration than the believer and the non-believer? How could we judge that “x” person has an advantage over “y” person just because of his/her faith?
If we really value each individual in this world to be completely equal to each other, then all human beings should have the right. They should deserve this “opportunity” to experience a peaceful journey to his/her end, regardless of having faith or not. Therefore, what follows next will hopefully be helpful to you and me, to him and her, to us and them.
An Appreciation of What Is to Come
On the physical aspect, our bodies will decay, or come to a sudden finalization. The sooner we accept that we all are on a similar route to a similar end, that there is a beginning, a life lived, and a completion, then the better (easier) it will be (for us) to begin comprehending that our lives need a conclusion, in spite of our desire or not of living longer. The realization that our life, as good or bad lived, as happy or not, is going to end, then we can start embarking on the appreciation of what could be on the other side, what could possibly be there for us.
So… what’s there in the other side?
Credit: Photo by Rhodi Lopez
