It was a good day to die.
I just finished watching--for the hundredth time--Galaxy Quest, a spoof on Star Trek. In this film, there's an alien who imitates the Spock-like character in every aspect. As the alien dies from a shot from an enemy, the character quotes one of his lines from the TV show; and the alien died happy.
As they say in the Klingon, it was a good day to die.
It got me to thinking (big surprise) about death and the fear of death. I also watched--just yesterday--Star Wars, Episode III, which, in my opinion, is as good as the original trilogy (for a change!). Here, Anakin Skywalker is so consumed by the fear that his love will die that he will do anything to save her life, even join the Sith (Dark Side of the Force)...which he does.
That, plus Galaxy Quest, pretty much made it obvious to me that if I know I only have a couple years left before I die (either from old age or some terminal illness), I will not go out like my grandfather (who killed himself when he realized that he had only one painful month of life left). Instead, I'll be at my most bold and weather the hazards for a cause.
But, why not do that now?
There are two primary things that make people fear death:
1. Fear of the Unknown.
2. Fear of loss.
We fear the unknown, because we can't compartmentalize it and label it, thus giving us power over it. We have no power over death (thank God). And, we fear loss, in so much that we fear not having another moment on Earth to share in the pleasures of life.
Both, when you get down to it, are ridiculous. First, since we cannot control death, why the hell worry about it? There's nothing we can do about it to begin with. Second...well, actually, the fear of loss falls under this category, too. Plus, for us to transition into the next existance (if you believe in that), you have to be prepared for the fact that there will not be any physical pleasures after death. So deal with it.
It's amazing how so many religious texts are based off of these two aspects. I've learned them to be called "surrender" and "detachment", respectively. This, leads to grace. If you aren't spending all of your living moments worrying about death; and if you aren't spending all of your life protecting inanimate objects; you will have MORE of your life to live it!
Duh!
So it's confirmed, and in saying so I truly respect the men and women of our armed forces even more: When I die, I want it to be for a cause, and not in vain. Who in their right mind would want anything different?
The (infrequent) Song of the Week is "Hunger for the Flesh," by Howard Jones. Read it and think about it.
As they say in the Klingon, it was a good day to die.
It got me to thinking (big surprise) about death and the fear of death. I also watched--just yesterday--Star Wars, Episode III, which, in my opinion, is as good as the original trilogy (for a change!). Here, Anakin Skywalker is so consumed by the fear that his love will die that he will do anything to save her life, even join the Sith (Dark Side of the Force)...which he does.
That, plus Galaxy Quest, pretty much made it obvious to me that if I know I only have a couple years left before I die (either from old age or some terminal illness), I will not go out like my grandfather (who killed himself when he realized that he had only one painful month of life left). Instead, I'll be at my most bold and weather the hazards for a cause.
But, why not do that now?
There are two primary things that make people fear death:
1. Fear of the Unknown.
2. Fear of loss.
We fear the unknown, because we can't compartmentalize it and label it, thus giving us power over it. We have no power over death (thank God). And, we fear loss, in so much that we fear not having another moment on Earth to share in the pleasures of life.
Both, when you get down to it, are ridiculous. First, since we cannot control death, why the hell worry about it? There's nothing we can do about it to begin with. Second...well, actually, the fear of loss falls under this category, too. Plus, for us to transition into the next existance (if you believe in that), you have to be prepared for the fact that there will not be any physical pleasures after death. So deal with it.
It's amazing how so many religious texts are based off of these two aspects. I've learned them to be called "surrender" and "detachment", respectively. This, leads to grace. If you aren't spending all of your living moments worrying about death; and if you aren't spending all of your life protecting inanimate objects; you will have MORE of your life to live it!
Duh!
So it's confirmed, and in saying so I truly respect the men and women of our armed forces even more: When I die, I want it to be for a cause, and not in vain. Who in their right mind would want anything different?
The (infrequent) Song of the Week is "Hunger for the Flesh," by Howard Jones. Read it and think about it.
posted by xanadian at 8:18 PM
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