Do you fear death?

[Moneyguy1]

After my experiences over the past four weeks, the (very) long thread on "Is there a God" and others on firearms and such, I began to wonder about people's feelings on this topic. Anyone want to opine?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

What's the point in fearing it? It's going to happen to all of us eventually.

Given a choice, I'd prefer that it not be for a long time as I feel I have much living left to do and much I can give to the world still, but if it happens, it happens.

I've pondered the prospect (and given the incredible advances in technology/memory storage/computing) of "virtual immortality", whereby a person's "self" might be transferred from their biological computer (the brain) and into a mechanical one, thereby allowing one to live on virtually forever. If it sounds like sci-fi, I suppose it is, but I can't think of many better uses for computing technology than to keep those who go before us (particularly those with things to contribute and good minds) around, even if virtually.

Maybe a technology like this is many decades (or even centuries) away, but it'd be kind of nice to hold on until then. . . But I suspect it won't happen for me - all the more incentive to leave the world better than I find it - my "immortality" will be what I leave behind. I

I believe once you die, it's lights out. That's it. End of game. No god, no soul, no eternal life. It's a nice story, and I hope I'm not hurting you by saying this at a vulnerable time, but I think it's critical to value each minute we have - because that's all you ever get.

[Scooter]

I think most people probably fear how they are going to die, rather than death itself.

[Nostril Cheese]

No I am not frightened of dying

Any time will do..

[Moneyguy1]

Cheese..More or less my feelings as well.


P-O-P: your (as you say) Sci-fi approach to technology would seem to indicate some degree of apprehension. No, I take no offense; I believe that the "energy" of our being follows the rules of physics......can not be destroyed, only changed.

Scott...The event is a certainty. The process is what most people fear. We are in agreement on that. I want fast, in my sleep, or suddenly while doing something I enjoy. Life is important to me only as long as I am healthy enough to be independent. I would never consider machine aided existence beyond that to temporarily assist my bod in the healing process.

[livi]

Evolution/God´s unique gift to homo sapience. The knowledge of his own future death. Very neat twist and probably the major reason religion evolved.

If we could release ourselves from our harness of psychological subconscious defense mechanisms we would probably be screaming out of horror all day long.

[Rot 911]

As I get older, I fear it less. A few times in the military I faced the very real prospect of dying and it scared the crap out of me.

[competentone]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
After my experiences over the past four weeks, the (very) long thread on "Is there a God" and others on firearms and such, I began to wonder about people's feelings on this topic. Anyone want to opine?

First off, I hope you're doing as well as can be after the painful ordeal you have just experienced.

Generally (and briefly since I've been soaked in sweat half the day and want to jump in the shower):

Life (and death) are at the core of my value system -- it constantly confronts virtually every decision I make. My body's emotional feedback system is constantly giving my brain (through a wash of chemicals dumped into my blood stream) data about how "life" is going and if "death" is anywhere near.

When something is "good" for me, it is good for my life; if something is "bad" for me, it represents some risk to my life.

Without the possibility of death, there would be no "life" in the first place -- if something cannot die, it cannot be alive. Contemplating that issue in my youth was a key element in my determination that religion (with its common theme of "life without death") was bunk. The idea of life needing death is at the core of my rational approach to living my life.

I accept that death is just part of life, so I wouldn't describe myself as having any intellectual "fear" of death. There still is an emotional reaction of fear to situations dangerous to my life -- we are hardwired to live, so "fear" of death is natural, it is just not any obsession.

(Now, time for that shower....)

[on-ramp]

I pray to God there is a Heaven... before we were born, we didn't exist. after we die, hopefully we find the after-life. Until then, enjoy each day (as much as possible).
Life is strange. Some babies die in the womb, other's die in their early childhood, others in their teens, or in their 20s. who's to say how long we have to live? some are just luckier than others. if you've lived a long healthy life, then you're one of the lucky ones.
In my 20s, I never thought about death. now in my 30s i think about my mortality every other day. but you know what, it doesn't really matter and it's a waste of my time. death one day will come. Why spend time worrying about it. what purpose does that serve...

[Chocaholic]

Sure, I fear death. I'm human. I have an unbelieveably great life. I'm married to an amazing woman, have three awesome kids, a pretty decent job, and am generally very happy. I suppose that what I fear most is not the act of dying, but more, I fear for the things that I'll miss out on when the day comes. . .especially if it comes before my kids are grown, etc.

I've heard it said that humans are the only animals that go through life with the knowledge that one day we will die. That's why we have religion...to help us rationalize and deal with that painful knowledge. What I know for sure is that life is beautiful and precious. I don't know anything about the other side...and there's a pretty good chance that there is no other side. So, yes, I'm afraid of leaving. I'm afraid of missing the joy of watching my children grow, get married, develop their own (hopefully) happy lives. I'm afraid of not being there to be my wife's partner as the years go by. So I try to live the best I can. To love and cherish every minute. That's our best defense!

[Wickd89]

I totally agree with Chocaholic.

I to am happily married, with kids and would miss out on what life still has to offer and seeing my kids grow.........and having a positive influence in their life......

[austin552]

No, I have more friends and family on the other side.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4524796683703251417&q=there+is+nothing+to+fear+but+fear+its+self&total=91&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Jim Bremner]

I'll be pain free!

[Flatbutt1]

no fear here now that my children are grown and self sustaining. and like JBremner says,I'll be pain free.

[speeder]

A fascinating topic, together with the things people do to deny their mortality like trying to beat the clock with face-lifts, injecting HGH, etc...

It is said that the only taboo topic in Hollywood is mortality, Los Angeles is a city that worships the young and strong while denying the existence of anything else. Going to funerals there of middle-aged people who died is the strangest experience ever, people just cannot get out of the church or synagogue fast enough. It's funny, in a dark humor way...

I do not fear death other than the normal human terror when a plane bounces too hard or a near-miss on a motorcycle, I do think a lot about not wanting to burden others either with a terminal illness or a violent death. I worry a lot more about the effect my demise would have on my mother, for instance, than myself. I figure I would be in the dark about the whole thing.

I do feel strongly that it is important to do the things you enjoy while on earth and treat people well, this being alive is a very temporary condition.

[Blanco]

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero"

[/Fight Club]

[austin552]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CydPIf3b-Mc

[Rick Lee]

Not too scared of it. I try to think of how small and insignificant we are in the universe to keep me from getting upset about death, armageddon or those kinds of bad things. But I'm about to get married and so I'm losing a bit of the daredevil streak in me. I want to stick around for a while now. Before that, I wasn't too concerned about it. What scared me was that I was terrified of things that shouldn't scare me and not phased at all by things that should have put the fear of god into me. I'm trying to reverse that.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I welcome it, and live my life accordingly. at any given moment, I could die and have little or no regrets in terms of doing what I want/(ed) to do, when, etc., though it would be nice to get the E done this summer.

big plus would be seeing what's on the other side. Physics has conservation of mass and conservation of energy. I believe in conversation of soul. there's something more behind the innate concept of a conscience than chemical reactions can explain, even though I'm an avid evolutionist.

[Lothar]

Bob,

Although I'm not in a hurry and have many more things to do in my life, I don't fear it.

I've told myself for a long time that death is simply a natural and integral part of life.

Since my mom passed this month, I feel that even more strongly. Through her short illness, 72 days from being discharged from the hospital, I witnessed a process. The folks from Hospice that took such good care of her and us gave me a pamphlet that pointed out the various stages of terminal illness. I did not read it until she was only weeks away from the end, but it struck me how predictable the process is.

While it was all new to me, it was part of an age-old routine that is part of the human experience. I had never been with someone at the moment of their passing, but in my Mom's case I knew that my presence did not go unnoticed. She knew that my father, my wife and I were with her through it all. In the last hours, I sat with her and eventually worked up the courage to tell her that it was ok to go and that she had put up a good fight.

Ironically, as I mentioned in a previous post, Mom's first name was Kathryn, but everyone called her Dorothy or Dot, her middle name. I read of your Kathryn's situation and followed along with everyone else hoping and praying for good news. However, that was not to be. I take comfort in knowing that there is someone watching over me now, as I know that your Kathryn is watching over you.