Death: Is It The End?
We have all experienced death in some fashion or to some degree. We see it as an end. It is the finality that makes us all equal. We are all born & eventually we all die. Some die before what we consider to be their time but we all die.
Fear of death is a common denominator of western culture much more so than in any of the Asian cultures or African cultures. Prior to going to war in Viet Nam I thought that I had become inured to death by working for 3 1/2 years in a funeral home while going to high school. Well I was a bit more used to death but I was inured. I became inured after about 6 months in the war, having been in combat by then on a vast number of occasions. The "Grim Reaper" & I had looked eyeball-to-eyeball at each other & my fear of dying was a thing of the past. You learn quickly in combat that if it is your turn nothing & no one can keep you from your meeting with infinity.
Most combat vets, veteran policemen, veteran firemen & others who have experienced the soul searing experience of meeting death face-to-face & then surviving have no fear of dying. They have more fear of living when they should have died, of being a burden to their loved ones or of being a non-functioning vegetable kept alive by machines.
Christians, Jews & Muslims are told that they will go to Heaven to be in the presence of Gad as their reward for a good life if they will but believe upon & in their one God. The old Scandic, Gothic, Teutonic, Celtic & Gaelic warriors shared a Valhalla with Odin/Woden if they died in battle or the result of battle. Dying was preferable to the Japanese samurai than being captured which was a dishonor to their family, clan & ultimately their emperor. Better to die than be dishonored. Many Native Americans believed that any day you died was "…a good day to die!" Many African warrior tribes also considered it much better to die in battle than to die in bed or to, live in dishonor.
When I see children die or dying I feel a great deal of sadness because they have not had the life experiences that make us a person with memories. I am saddened by the death of elderly persons as well because they probably have not had the opportunity to pass on all of their knowledge & experiences prior to their demise.
One hears from those who have faced death, that it is a criminal thing that our young people are dying in wars. Please allow the young people to die as they see fit! None of them wants to die but they do want to die serving their nation, their friends & their own sense of honor. Who are you to deny them that right? In Nam I was holding an old friend whom I had known since kindergarten in my arms as he bled out from several wounds to his throat & chest. He looked me in the eye and said "At least I am going out a man and not a punk!" He was not afraid to die in an honorable fashion but the was concerned about how he died.
As parents we do not want to see our kids go off to war and there perhaps become mangled & maimed or in our eyes worse yet dead. Nothing wrong with our feelings but can we disallow them the right to serve in harm's way in an honorable fashion including the right to die? I say…NO! Gen. George Patton said it best, …make the other bastard die for his country!" If that is not possible then go down fighting! We have a plethora of heroes whom we respect, look up to & serve up to our kids a heroic persons. People like Sgt. York, Sgt. Roy Benavides, Maj. Dick Meadows, Nathaniel Hale, Col. "Pappy" Boyington, Col. Lewis Millette & many more who have bled, some died & all served out nation.
No one dies needlessly if they die in service. Ask the firemen & policemen & EMT people that raced into the unknown on 9/11 to try to save those poor souls who were injured dying. Ask any cop, fireman or soldier/sailor/airman if they would wish to not do what they do to serve. They will tell you a resounding…NO! They will serve & they know that they are harm's way but that is their choice so allow the honor & the dignity to do so!
Some people pass on much sooner than we wish. My wife did so 2 years & 5 months ago. The people of the Rus have a saying,"The dead will bury the dead but the living must go on living!"I never really knew what that meant until she died & her mom said that to me. If you think about it enough you will also come to the realization that dying is not an end but a function of life that simply closes a chapter in the book of humanity so another chapter can open.
Copyright © 2006-2009 Donald R Houston, PhD. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the author's consent.
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Comments: 18
I know we have souls though, I've had too many strange experiences not to believe that. I'm actually glad for reincarnation. I think there is a benefit to forgetting and coming back fresh and new, like the Phoenix.
I am not afraid but I pray to go fast on the other side, as i do not want to be a burden for anyone.
thank you
I agree with you. People should choose how they live and how they die.
Death is much on my mind these days. My mother has been fighting cancer for the past 5 years and last night had to enter the hospital again. I don't believe in reincarnation or the concept of heaven (or hell, for that matter)... any of those religious/cult ideas that were first created to give some peace to people when facing death in their lives. Sometimes I wish I did because then I imagine the pain of my Mother's slow painful death might feel a little lessened.
What I deeply fear is old age here, especially in the US. Our culture is very hostile to its elderly. I am terrified of the poverty, loneliness and helplessness of old age. Since I have no children, there is no one for me to be a burden to; I expect to simply fall through the cracks, at best onto the hell-on-earth of the social services system. Old age, not an early death, is my idea of the enemy.
Digitl Dogs, my heart goes out to you and your suffering mother. I wish I could comfort you!
Faith in God doesn't lessen the pain of an ugly death. It offers hope for the life to come. At the same time. conviction of the reality of God has another side. If you really understand what God wants us to understand, then you are as aware of His justice as well as His love. When we human beings rebel against Him, we are responsible for our misdeeds,, whatever they may be. And all of us have some guilt. Do you know anybody at all whose soul isn't tinged by some of the gray? I certainly know the dark parts that stain mine!
God's love is in forgiving us *when we repent and ask*. He doesnt forgive willy-nilly without some responsibility on our part. That is His justice. Doing wrong must exact its price.
God's love is expressed in His offering Jesus to bear the burden of the price on my head. But I don't just get it. I have to put my hands out to receive it. If I ignore it or put my hands ehind my back, that's on me, including God's justice, exacting of me the price of my guilts.
When I now this, it isn't all sweetness and light. It means I am deeply aware, too, of God's expectations for me. It means I am responsible to Him, too. In my normal humanness is the unwillingness to be responsible to God, to pleasing Him instead of myself, of recognizing the wrath I deserve when I defy Him and do my will instead of His. I know that's setting myself up to receive His justified anger, and the thought is scary. A lot more scary that simly thinking this is all there is.
The hope and blessing return with the reminder that Jesus Christ has already taken my licks for me. That leaves me with the duty of living a good life of kindness, generosity and integrity out of thankfulness to God who has provided for my eternal well-being.
the last chapter of your piece, where you said dieing is the end of one chapter, so that another can begin. That is a true statement. The next chapter is the resurrection of the dead when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ shall arise from the dead.