Have You Accepted Death? Share Your Experience and Age

[epkid08]

Here's my definition of 'Accepting Death': To accept death is to be ready to die, free from stress, anguish, or personal emotion. Personal emotion is limited to self inflicted emotion. A counter example to personal emotion would be emotion that one has because of someone else's emotion, i.e. crying because someone else is crying; I'm saying that you can have non-personal emotion even after accepting death.

I'm curious as to who actually has accepted death so far in their life. Please post if you have or not and your current age.

I'm 16, and I have to say that I have for myself. The way I see it, if I die today, one, I wouldn't care once I'm dead anyways because care is an emotion and you need a brain to execute emotion, two, I know that everything I once loved, loves me back, and three, I wouldn't care about the time I wasn't able to spend on earth, because see example one.

Edit: Post your age, and how long you have felt that way, and why.

 

[uman]

No..

 

[epkid08]

Edit: Post your age, and how long you have felt that way, and why.

 

[cristo]

Of course not: I've not achieved nearly enough in my life!

 

[humanino]

I'm curious as to who actually has accepted death so far in their life. Please post if you have or not and your current age.

I'm 28 and I should say the only reason I answer is because of a personal experience when I was 14 and thought I would die. That was a rational conclusion from the situation I was in. Before I had this experience, I would not have imagined what it feels like. I don't think it can be described, told or shared, you can only feel it. I'll try to describe it anyway since you ask. Of course I experienced intense stress and what comes with it. That lasted several minutes. But you can not just look backward, even if you know you are about to die : I had nothing to do except sit and wait, enjoy my physical pain, and after a while you come to see that the only thing that matters is the others left behind. I was not so much sad for myself as I was for the one I loved. My own mistake, supposedly leading to my death, would fill them with deep sorrow, and I cared more about that than thinking about all the things I would not live. I came to the conclusion that the worst would be I could not say goodbye, because I did not have anything to write.

Luck saved me eventually And today, we have cell phones ! We can talk about it, and everybody has heard that we need to enjoy every second as if it was the last one. I often think about the air I breath and what would happen if that was not granted anymore. It had little impact on my conceptions until I went through this. My mother went through a similar experience when she was 45. She described the same kind of shift.

 

[epkid08]

I understand where you're coming from humanino, but I'd have to say that's because of pain, or 'personal emotion', as I stated. Also, I'm not saying that I want to die (heck no!), we only get one life, and it's fun for the most part; I'm certainly not saying that you should live for today, and not for tomorrow either. I am saying though, that if I ran into death, I'd be okay with accepting it.(as far as my definition of accepting death goes).

 

[Lisa!]

Nope, because I'm still alive! There were times in my life when I thought I was going to die or I'd prefer to die, but even at that times I felt that wasn't true. (It was like things that some people say they're going to do while they're pretty sure that they're not going to do them)

 

[humanino]

I am saying though, that if I ran into death, I'd be okay with accepting it.

My post was not against this, but in favor of it. That probably means you are as rational as I am. I just wanted to point out that the feeling of this shift is difficult to share.

There were times in my life when I thought I was going to die or I'd prefer to die, but even at that times I felt that wasn't true.

Depression was not at all what I was subject to. I underwent an accident remotely from any human being and was stuck on the spot in a situation which would involve death in a matter of hours. Only two english tourists happened to come by and found me randomely.

 

[DaveC426913]

I'm 28 and I should say the only reason I answer is because of a personal experience when I was 14 and thought I would die. That was a rational conclusion from the situation I was in. Before I had this experience, I would not have imagined what it feels like. I don't think it can be described, told or shared, you can only feel it. I'll try to describe it anyway since you ask. Of course I experienced intense stress and what comes with it. That lasted several minutes. But you can not just look backward, even if you know you are about to die : I had nothing to do except sit and wait, enjoy my physical pain, and after a while you come to see that the only thing that matters is the others left behind. I was not so much sad for myself as I was for the one I loved. My own mistake, supposedly leading to my death, would fill them with deep sorrow, and I cared more about that than thinking about all the things I would not live. I came to the conclusion that the worst would be I could not say goodbye, because I did not have anything to write.

Luck saved me eventually And today, we have cell phones ! We can talk about it, and everybody has heard that we need to enjoy every second as if it was the last one. I often think about the air I breath and what would happen if that was not granted anymore. It had little impact on my conceptions until I went through this. My mother went through a similar experience when she was 45. She described the same kind of shift.

I'm going to hazard: stranded at sea?

 

[humanino]

I'm going to hazard: stranded at sea?

Nice try
It was in the mountains, and I knew my wounds were serious enough.

 

[Lisa!]

Depression was not at all what I was subject to. I underwent an accident remotely from any human being and was stuck on the spot in a situation which would involve death in a matter of hours. Only two english tourists happened to come by and found me randomely.

Yeah, I got it from your post that depression was not your case! Anyway Glad that you survived and you're here with us now!


PS : hmmm...I'm not sure if my case's been depression as well becaus I thought I was going to die because of some sickness. Anyway that's different from yours where you were facing death seriously!

 

[humanino]

PS : hmmm...I'm not sure if my case's been depression as well becaus I thought I was going to die because of some sickness. Anyway that's different from yours where you were facing death seriously!

Oh, I misinterpreted your words

people say they're going to do

Sorry

Thanks for your kind words !

 

[lisab]

Nice try
It was in the mountains, and I knew my wounds were serious enough.

I agree with you, humanino. When you were stranded and thinking you were going to die, you came to the conclusion that the only thing that matters is the people in your life. I came to this same conclusion when I was faced with being diagnosed with a terrible disease - luckily tests showed that I didn't have it (whew!). But an experience like that will stop you in your tracks and really teach you something.

I learned that I really, really don't want to die...as Dylan Thomas put it,

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

[DaveC426913]

Nice try
It was in the mountains, and I knew my wounds were serious enough.

Of course. That was my second. Not having anything to write with led me to believe you had no resources nearby. But afterward I realized you mentioned physical pain, which should have clued me in that you were unable to move far.

 

[humanino]

you were unable to move far.

This is kind of off-topic but not completely, so I'll mention it to illustrate that I did not accept easily. I made something like 10 m (30 foot, probably I was imagining part of them) in 45 minutes before I decided I was just exhausting myself, plus the pain and additional harm of moving. I was several kilometers away, including sections I could not have crossed in this state. Only after those efforts did I began to accept my situation.

 

[a2tha3]

I'm rather young, and I haven't accepted death. Yet I don't fear death.

To fear death is to limit life, and every day is a good day to die. No day is a good day to throw your life away.

Granted, I've almost died 7 times...but still If i get hit with death, I want no regrets in the times before I die. Live in the moment type of thing I got going on..no risk no rewards..

I figure right before I'm about to die I'll reach a new plane of consciousness and be able to understand more than I've ever dreamed of understanding..Something will just like "click" for the long seconds/minutes before I die.

But maybe It'll end so fast I won't get to experience that... who knows?

Everytime I thought I was going to die, I've had a realization in which I was blind to before it. I solved a problem that was bothering me for the longest time once hahaha...

Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

 

[Holocene]

Death is a reality few accept. More often than not, people hide behind religious beliefs, and insist they'll live forever. The educated person knows this is nonsense, but fear of death is far too strong for the majority of people. A classic example is the death of someone close. The survivor can sometimes be heard saying that the dead person isn't dead, but is instead “watching over us”. Or when a child is involved, he/she was “needed more in heaven”.

I would say I'm resigned to the fact of death. I'm not so sure I'd want to die right now, but the fact is that when death does come, it is very much out of our hands. In a way, we all die together. Everyone you know of today will be gone in 150 years, as will you. By then society will have long ago forgotten us, and there will be essentially no reason to believe any of us even existed. It's somewhat haunting to think about, but it's a testament to time, and it's relentless ability to carry away whatever it is we embrace.

Richard Dawkins said it well. We are just lucky to be here, as the odds of us being born in the first place were astronomically low. Just try to live a richly as possible during your remaining years.

I truly believe that life is all for nothing, but in a way, that can make it more exciting. It is matter of perspective.

 

[arildno]

I know that I can live with the fact that I'm going to die. Does that mean I accept it in the sense that if I were offered a real opportunity NOT to die, I wouldn't be tempted by the offer?

Sure I would be greatly tempted, I only hope I would have the moral integrity to reject it if the path towards immortality required the deaths of others..

Fortunately, though, it doesn't seem to exist such horrible ways to immortality, either..

 

[lisab]

I know that I can live with the fact that I'm going to die. Does that mean I accept it in the sense that if I were offered a real opportunity NOT to die, I wouldn't be tempted by the offer?

Sure I would be greatly tempted, I only hope I would have the moral integrity to reject it if the path towards immortality required the deaths of others..

Fortunately, though, it doesn't seem to exist such horrible ways to immortality, either..

I know I would not accept such an offer. It would mean an eternity spent watching the people in your life die.

 

[robertm]

When I was fairly young, about 10, I was caught in a soupy muddy quicksand. I was alone and slowly began to sink. Instantly I recognized the gravity of the situation and began to struggle as much as I could. I fought for several hours screaming my head and slowly sinking all the time. I did everything that I possibly could, even though I realized it was impossible to pull myself out (it was a very thick kind of sink hole made of red clay). There was no relaxing and slowly working my way out, due to the nature of the nasty stuff.

Luckily, I was only a few miles from my house and my dad had decided to come look for me. He had to get a rope and tie it to a tree to pull me out. I had sunk all the way to my chest, and was still sinking.

Not once in that time did I think about any of my family or loved ones. My mind was completely focused on fighting with every once of strength that I had throughout my ordeal. And, now looking back, I think that I attribute my selfish line of thought to my young age, i.e. My mind was running on 'super-overdrive' if you will. Fully focused on survival.

Looking back on this, I came to realize that my life was more important to me than anything. And this had some very good implications.

I will never die willingly. I can know that for sure. However, I do not and will not, ever fear death. I know that once my brain activity has crossed a certain line, my conscious will cease to exist, and nothing will matter any more. You can not fear something that is nothing, there is nothing to be afraid of!

So if you can call that "accepting death" then I guess my answer is: Yes, 18.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Several times I've experienced a sort of enlightenment, maybe a minor ego death, not by drugs, but by a random spiritual mental states. It is a full realization of being. Bare awareness of who I am, that I am and that I am in control. That I am really thinking and in real time. It is hard to explain, but I think we all go through our lives on a sort of autopilot and take most primal and basic things for granted. It is like I awaken from this autopilot but for just a minute or two. In this state I am in utter amazement, the hair on my body raises like a shiver. My mind is clear like in buddhism. It also makes me fearful, because I also feel how fragile I really am, but mostly I am in amazement at the feeling of my core self and feeling in the moment and totally aware. Very hard to explain, has anyone felt this before?

Overall I accept death will come, but I don't like it. I don't want my family and memories to die and become nothing. I also fear how I will die. Most deaths are not "die in sleep", I don't think. There are so many ways to die horriblely. From a slow cancer death, to a painful gun shot or car crash...

 

[robertm]

Several times I've experienced a sort of enlightenment, maybe a minor ego death, not by drugs, but by a random spiritual mental states. It is a full realization of being. Bare awareness of who I am, that I am and that I am in control. That I am really thinking and in real time. It is hard to explain, but I think we all go through our lives on a sort of autopilot and take most primal and basic things for granted. It is like I awaken from this autopilot but for just a minute or two. In this state I am in utter amazement, the hair on my body raises like a shiver. My mind is clear like in buddhism. It also makes me fearful, because I also feel how fragile I really am, but mostly I am in amazement at the feeling of my core self and feeling in the moment and totally aware. Very hard to explain, has anyone felt this before?

I know exactly what you mean Greg. I would never even try to vocalize it however, it is something that is very difficult to describe. Almost as if you temporarily have the ability to consciously control, or at least are aware of, the lower functions of you brain...

Just a few weeks ago, I actually attempted to control my heart beat, just by holding my fingers on my jugular and focusing on the beats. I managed to actually stop it. If only for a few seconds, but I jumped up and beat on my chest and did jumping jacks until in began to beat again. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night...

 

[Rade]

Death as a thing does not exist--nothing to either accept or reject. Better question imo is: have you accepted that someday you will no longer be alive ? Now, if this is what you mean, then for me yes, I have.

 

[QMecca]

In a sense I have, however I'm not ready to die before I've lived life to the fullest in all branches of life.

Death is not to be feared, people visualize some black eternal pit time freeze zone.
This is wrong, you'll simply cease to "be". No experience of "nothingness".

The best disproof of afterlife: fear of death, why would we have it if paradise awaits us? :D

 

[DaveC426913]

In a sense I have, however I'm not ready to die before I've lived life to the fullest in all branches of life.

Death is not to be feared,

Perhaps death is not to be feared so much as an untimely death. See your opening comment.

The best disproof of afterlife: fear of death, why would we have it if paradise awaits us? :D

The same reason men don't have boobs. They'd never get anything done.

 

[Coldcall]

What does length of life have to do with whether one is ready to die? Look at some of the historical figures who died in their 20s but did far more than most of us will ever do in our lifetimes. I don't think its longevity of life but more a case of quality.

And anyway we don't know what happens to you when you die except for that you disappear as far as we are concerned. Who knows what its like on the inside of death. hahahahahah (wicked laughter)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Death as a thing does not exist--nothing to either accept or reject. Better question imo is: have you accepted that someday you will no longer be alive ? Now, if this is what you mean, then for me yes, I have.

Well I certainly fear ceasing to exist. I like myself lol and I'd like to last for a long time. The idea that I will cease to be for eternity is hard to think about.

 

[Jordan Joab]

Perhaps death is not to be feared so much as an untimely death. See your opening comment.


The same reason men don't have boobs. They'd never get anything done.

mmmmm boobs...

Anyways, death is only a problem 1sec before you die.

 

[rootX]

Age 19:

I am more afraid of pain than death. I am phobic to many things so that must mean I haven't accepted death.

I think Buddhism/Zen teaches about accepting death. I tried to learn it. I would be far more happier than now if I can accept death.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I think Buddhism/Zen teaches about accepting death. I tried to learn it. I would be far more happier than now if I can accept death.

Same here, but it's extremely difficult to live and maintain a buddhist mentality for long living in the western world.

 

[vanesch]

I try to take on the stance by Epicurus:
"when we exist, death is not, and when death exists, we are not". So we never meet death.

 

[octelcogopod]

One of the things that helped me was basically to just realize that I'm a random organism in the universe, exactly like every other organism that ever lived.
Literally every organism to have lived on this planet has either died, or will die in the future, so that's kind of helpful.
I don't want to try to explain or rationalize anything with spiritual thought, or cloud it with my conscious thought, I would rather just try to look at it realistically, and for the most part I manage to forget it during a typical day.

Truth is though, that the human mind isn't equipped to handle death on a spiritual or rational level. There may exist a lot of people who say they have no fear of death, and that their focus is on life, and whatever other philosophies they have come up with, but when reality comes, and it's time to die, I'm sure most people will feel what acceptance really is.

In a way, death can be said to be even more natural than life, that destruction is more natural than creation, but they are both the same thing, except as conscious beings, we ultimately end up losing something in the process, while other things may just change, without anything lost.
I truly believe most of the comforts we have built up, society we have created, the awareness of mental concepts, illnesses, awareness of self etc, has induced a much bigger fear in humans, than earlier seen.

I don't really think one should completely accept death, because this would mean that one wouldn't care about living either.
If you like ANYTHING on this planet, then even if just for a split second, you would think 'well I don't really want to die right now, I'm in the middle of this activity..'

I think, the focus should not be on death, and it isn't for most people during a typical day.. But I mean, just focus on making a good life for you and others around you, focus on what life has to offer, and the day when you're about to die, let it be sure that nature will make sure you die, so you are out of control completely, and isn't that kind of liberating? No responsibility, nothing you need to do at all, you can just let it all go, and get some rest.

 

[ForMyThunder]

I'm 16, too. Yeah, I've accepted death; it will come quickly and silently. I'm curious about what is in the "afterlife", if there is one. Personally, I hope there is, because if there wasn't then all the work, struggles, and moments in my life would have been for nothing and worth nothing. In a way, I am looking forward to it. I'm not afraid, because it is inevitable.

"Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us."

The only "fear" about death that I have is that I will die for nothing. I try to live always in the present; you enjoy life more, and the experience lasts longer; instead of always waiting for what comes next. Death is tomorrow's problem.

 

[DaveC426913]

...I've accepted death; it will come quickly and silently...

It's good that you are optimistic, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

 

[VISTREL]

I've accepted death longtime ago. Actually I'm kind of fascinated by it, and can't wait to find out what (if anything) lies beyond. But I have fear of untimely slow dying process like getting cancer, etc. I'm agnostic so I'm not too bothered if my unique life experience will end because I think we are part of a much bigger game. Look at it this way, before birth you did not exist and after birth - you're! So in a way, if you die some observational capability will still experience material world in a different person and personality. It's hard to explain but you get an idea. I think it is the ultimate purpose of everything - to have an experience.