No problems with leaving unfinished business and crying family members behind?
I hear he's fond of chess.When I meet the Reaper, I shall laugh in her face.
I'll play him in a few rounds of simple, fun, table-top games to eventualy win back my life!
We don't think about death, we brush it to the side and think that it won't bother us for years, decades even. And that is the only way to live, we can't let it dominate our lives. That is very true.
But when asked point blank, "Are you afraid of dying?" as is the point of this entire thread, the answer has to be yes if you're honest. The question is not do you think of death constantly, or if you're okay with the concept of your own mortality.
And just as an aside, there is no right or wrong answer. You can answer the question however you want to ensure your sanity. But a lot of the replies here appear to dodge the real question. When you were in that near fatal car accident, or you had a heart attack, or a knife or gun waved in your face did you just calmly decide you weren't worried about it, or were you afraid?
I was scared. And fear is good, it keeps you alive and from doing stupid things.
To be honest, I'm more scared of losing my marbles when I get older, than actually dying. Dying is an inevitability, but losing who I am, and not being able to remember the people I love, would be a fate worse than death.
We don't think about death, we brush it to the side and think that it won't bother us for years, decades even. And that is the only way to live, we can't let it dominate our lives. That is very true.
But when asked point blank, "Are you afraid of dying?" as is the point of this entire thread, the answer has to be yes if you're honest. The question is not do you think of death constantly, or if you're okay with the concept of your own mortality.
And just as an aside, there is no right or wrong answer. You can answer the question however you want to ensure your sanity. But a lot of the replies here appear to dodge the real question. When you were in that near fatal car accident, or you had a heart attack, or a knife or gun waved in your face did you just calmly decide you weren't worried about it, or were you afraid?
I was scared. And fear is good, it keeps you alive and from doing stupid things.
As I pointed out earlier, this is exactly why every culture has invented an afterlife. Fear of death is the most fundamental instinct we have. No person-- or any other animal, for that matter-- could function properly without it. Believing that death is just a change of address is just one way people have of dealing with it.But what about those who supposedly believe in the afterlife? As another poster pointed out, many of these folks claim to believe that heaven is so wonderful that they can hardly wait to get there. But even they fight tooth and nail to stay HERE. So I have to wonder if they REALLY believe in the afterlife, or only hope for an afterlife.
When you were in that near fatal car accident, or you had a heart attack, or a knife or gun waved in your face did you just calmly decide you weren't worried about it, or were you afraid?
That's a faulty premise, that not fearing death must equal not going to doctors or eating right. I have work to do on this planet, raising my kids and keeping America safe for democracy. I have to be healthy to do that. That means eating healthfully, exercising when I can, and visiting the doctor when necessary. I can't work if I'm bedridden or in pain; I can't participate in family life if I am too ill to interact with them. Having no fear of death does not mean wanting to be broken down and unhealthy until you finally stop functioning.But what about those who supposedly believe in the afterlife? As another poster pointed out, many of these folks claim to believe that heaven is so wonderful that they can hardly wait to get there. But even they fight tooth and nail to stay HERE. So I have to wonder if they REALLY believe in the afterlife, or only hope for an afterlife.
"Hope" for an afterlife seems to be the real answer. Because if a person truly believed in a place called heaven, where everything is wonderful and we have no more pain, troubles, and trials...why wouldn't everyone be trying to get there as quickly as possible? Why try to be healthy? Why go to doctors or work out or take vitamins or try to eat right? Why attempt in any way to prolong one's life? If heaven exists and it is so wonderful, why is it considered 'progress' that we have longer lives now than we did 150 years ago? Wouldn't 'progress' in that case be that scientists found a way to SHORTEN life and give us an express lane to heaven?
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