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Sat 1 Feb, 2020 10:07 pm
If cholera was once a natural occurrence until cured, and so death is natural until cured, then what? Do we strive to become a death positive society and understand it or do we put our efforts into curing the ultimate disease? Isn't trying to cure death still running from it? Maybe that doesn't matter once we've cured it!
There's so much to accept--meaninglessness, what a full life is, good vs bad, goals, what we do in our life that might surpass our lifespans, people who've died before us, what drives us in our lives so that we might not have to think about death, etc.
I'm assuming I don't die in a plane crash, car crash, murder, shooting, another disease besides death, poisoning, wild animal attack, and that I get to old age.
Do I go about my life accepting my demise at any given moment, only to find myself getting the latest anti-aging treatment when I'm 70? I guess, it's not like I lost on accepting my death--because if I accepted it and didn't fear it for the most part, then who cares how my 70s go--I accept all and any outcome.
@metalhead-dinosaur,
Er, okay.
At this point in our medical history, avoiding death is impossible. Putting it off, yes. But not the inevitable. No one's made it to 125 yet. I highly doubt more than a few people will get near that in our lifetimes unless some major breakthroughs happen.
So, a better outlook is not to avoid death, but to do our best to avoid a bad last 20 years. Smoking, bad diet, lack of exercise, excessive drinking, and reckless behavior (where you become a paraplegic) all contribute to a terrible last 2 decades.
I think you're referring to an anti-aging process as being purely cosmetic in nature. What if it delayed the onset of Alzheimer's, or kept you walking an extra 3 years?
@metalhead-dinosaur,
I feel ya metal head.
I’m at the far end of life [>70] and from this end it looks like it can go one of two ways. You either cling like crazy to this life or you let go of it. The first is by far the more popular choice but that looks pretty pathetic to me.
Going the other way doesn’t mean you die just yet, quite the contrary, I found that it was more a beginning. I don’t think you can see anything clearly, including yourself, until letting go of what we call normal life, which is pretty pointless.
You sound like you might have a good start by realizing that already, so in answer to one of your questions, no, I won’t be seeking any life extension technologies. I’m still having fun but looking forward to leaving the building.
I've thought about dying. While my life may end, I think it continues so long as once in awhile someone thinks about you. I am the last survivor of my small family chain but I have continued it a bit with my kids. Grand parents, parents, aunts and uncles and siblings have all moved on to whatever is next.
I look at their pictures once in awhile and relive some memory or another and that keeps them alive... but my kids only know my parents. They will have no memory of my aunts and uncles or siblings as they all passed before they arrived.
I assume they will think of me once in awhile and that one of them has a kid before I go so they may have a memory when they see my pictures. In that way I will stay alive.
Either that or I gotta find a way into a history book in the next 10-20 years...
@Leadfoot,
Guess so if you want to look at it that way.
George Burns always said he expected to live to a hundred. So he made it and in that year died. He should have put his sights on 105.
@McGentrix,
Just following the logical train of thought. It’s the only way I seem able to look at anything.
A blessing and a curse.
@edgarblythe,
******* logic. Shouldn’t Mr. Burns have targeted infinity?
@McGentrix,
When I'm dead I don't think it will matter to me whether anyone remembers me.
If I cease to exist like the Atheists believe, I won't be aware.
If I'm in Heaven or Hell, I'll be too focused on other things to care.
What we've always denied, rejected and avoided in our day to day discussions might be the cure to live longer and happier. Having the conversation about end of life preferences and thoughts will help people to make a commitment to life, take better care of themselves and let their families take better care of them too. Conversations, planning in advance and perception about death are a pathway to wellness and happiness.
@mementoM2060,
Naw, I don’t think so. I’m looking forward to it. Not suicidal mind you, just had enough of this one.
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