Death is inevitable and the sad reality is that we all have to deal with it eventually.  Most people fear death because of the unknown and the realization that they will never be with their loved ones again.  The saddest part of death is dying alone and having no one by your side as you move from this life onto the next.  Society and human nature, for the most part, deals with death through sadness and sorrow.  However, death should actually be a celebration of ones life and all the great and unique accomplishments. Why do we live with the idea of this inevitable sadness when we can choose to end our lives in a celebratory fashion instead?

A few days back my friends father passed away from stage 4 lung cancer.  The cancer spread throughout his body and he was deemed terminal and incurable.  As soon as the doctor diagnosed him as terminal their family’s collective attitude about his life changed.  I personally didn’t agree with how they handled the situation, but, as an outsider I am only entitled to my opinion and that is all.  Collectively they all gave up and decided whatever the doctor said was the only and final diagnosis.  Had this been my family, I would travel to the ends of the earth to find a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and etc. professional medical and holistic opinion.  The overwhelming sorrow that my friends family faced in these past few weeks and months proved to me that when I pass, I want my family and friends to deal with my death completely differently.

I want my family and friends to celebrate my life and all the unique things that I was able to accomplish.  I want them to laugh instead of cry at the idea of never seeing me again.  I want to teach them to look at my passing as my new beginning to another journey.  I want to celebrate a life that was worth living and show everyone that death is not the end nor should it be sad.  Death marks the end of one life but it also marks the beginning of something that none of us are capable of comprehending.

When I refer to death I am not speaking of tragic or accidental deaths.  There are many deaths that occur that are unimaginable and unforeseen, such as children dying too young or good and undeserving people having their lives taken because of murder or illness and sometimes even the bad don’t deserve certain death sentences.  I am not speaking of deaths that occur through those means, because in those situations sorrow is completely understandable.  There is a mourning process and obligatory time is required to act as a tribute to the lost lives.  I just want to clarify this, because when I am referring to ending our lives on a happy note, I’m referring to situations where people are blessed to live long and fulfilling lives and can foresee their passing in the near future.

So, do you fear death?  Why?  Is it because of how you were raised and the misconceptions behind death that you were taught as a child?  Do you deal with death through sorrow?  I want you to understand that we can choose not to deal with death like this anymore.  We all know that it will happen eventually, so rather than anticipate a sorrow ending why not end our lives on a celebratory note?  Why not leave this world with a bang and smiling?  We entered this world crying, but, I believe we should leave this world smiling and laughing because we were able to experience life.  We should leave our families with the memories of us being happy because life happened not because it’s over.

Time to reflect:

How will you handle death when the time comes?  Will you want to leave this world smiling or crying?  Will you want to leave your family with great memories or sorrow?  Think about it, because it’s actually a choice we have.  Sure we cannot choose life over death, but, we can definitely choose how we want to deal with death when our time comes.  So, I urge you, choose to deal with death with happiness.  I wish you a long and fulfilling life.  

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain