It's not so much the fear of death that gets people, but rather a fear of the implications of what comes next. The only thing we know is that our story ends, the world will keep on turning without us, and will continue to do so. Anything beyond that is down to one's beliefs, because there really is no way for any living person to know what happens beyond this life.
Others fear not death itself but losing themselves along the way. That's where I'd put myself. My grandfather had Alzheimer's during the final 10 years of his life before he passed away, and considering my father is also on the spectrum as well as me, I'm just hoping that neither of us have that kind of future to look forward to. On one hand, I know that if I were to have Alzheimer's in my future, I would remain blissfully(?) ignorant of the fact; however, the idea of losing awareness of myself and loved ones is an unpleasant thought, to say the least.
When it comes to the prospect of inevitable death, even at age 42 (at the time of writing this), I've embodied my personal feelings in a quote from one of my middle-aged fictional characters, Rodney Rococo, who (in my "The Reckoning of Gheldrynn" story) makes the jesting comment, "You either die young or you live long enough to wish you'd died young." While that is meant to partially be a joke (that's just how Rodney's character is), I've just witnessed - in my own life and observation - that as we age things are only going to become harder and living a long life rarely ever means a long and happy one...unless you're one of the rare lucky people who find a secret (that isn't a form of delusion) to remaining happy in their elder years.
15 Nov 2024, 4:07 pm
