Being in touch with our own mortality

[nozflubber]

I study and play with mathematics - therefore, I am not mortal. God is in the numbers I tell you!!@#~

 

[SillySapienne]

Are you in touch with your own mortality and all of its implications?

Absolutely, yes.

Is it of benefit to be in touch with our mortality?

Absolutely, yes.

What can a person do to be better in touch with their own mortality?

Observe animals, observe dying animals, observe dead animals. (And for those who do not know, yes, human beings are animals).

 

[disregard]

1. Will what you're doing now matter to anyone after you die, or even in 5 years? Yes.. the cultivation of the self is a process which gives one a great sense of accomplishment as well as peace of mind, not merely the continual satisfaction of impulsions.
   
2. What can I do to make sure that I put things that will matter after I die as top priority? Things don't matter after you die.
   
3. You may not live to see milestones in the life of you, your family, and your friends which you look forward to and assume you will see. Milestones are overrated.
   
4. Others rely on you for specific tasks and information which are difficult to replace. Indeed. Think of all of the people that have come and passed on Earth. Trillions. Life went on.
   
5. You might outlive everyone you know. I'd live. (no pun intended.. )
   
6. If you live a long time, the world will be totally different from the one you know now, and you will be less capable of adapting to it by then. The turn of seasons is a pace I can keep up with. As for the world changing.. everything changes, and yet it remains much the same if you look at it right.
   
7. If you live a long time, you will likely be somewhat forgotten and be seen with less respect because Western culture values youth and those with potential rather than those nearing the end of their life. I disagree.. It is the beautiful shells that are easily forgotten.

 

[arcticangel02]

Ugh, my mortality scares me. I don't want to think about it.

Yes, theoretically I'm aware that it happens. People die. I'm even starting to see the effects of it close to home (someone close to me being diagnosed with an incurable disease, watching a friend battle with late stages of cancer).

I've never experienced the death of someone very close to me - but even just hearing about someone I had met before, or once knew. To hear that they've died, and are no longer on this earth. That's so strange and eerie to me. I don't know.

It's just so chilling to think about the other side - what happens after we die? Nothing.

That nothingness is the thing that scares me. Really, really scares me.

 

[SillySapienne]

Nothingness is easy, (just think of the vast nothingness that was your "life" prior to your existence). Knowing this, I'd assume death/nothingness/oblivion to be relatively simple and easy. Living and, or dying however, not so much.

 

[FallsPioneer]

1. This could be the last day in your life or the life of someone close.
   
2. Will what you're doing now matter to anyone after you die, or even in 5 years?
   
3. What can I do to make sure that I put things that will matter after I die as top priority?
   
4. You may not live to see milestones in the life of you, your family, and your friends which you look forward to and assume you will see. (Personal note: If I can ever bring myself to do it without crying the entire time, I would like to record videos of me talking to my kids which they can watch at various stages of life... graduation, marriage, having kids. I may have to just write letters, as even this is difficult enough.)
   
5. Others rely on you for specific tasks and information which are difficult to replace. (salary, pensions, savings, property ownership, business knowledge, fixing things, emotional support)
   
6. You might outlive everyone you know.
   
7. If you live a long time, the world will be totally different from the one you know now, and you will be less capable of adapting to it by then.
   
8. If you live a long time, you will likely be somewhat forgotten and be seen with less respect because Western culture values youth and those with potential rather than those nearing the end of their life.

5 worries me.

8 I could care less.

So if I'm in touch with my morality do I still accept the emotional aspect of these statements? Because I know that the aforementioned is possible/inevitable, but it still sucks.

 

[millerm277]

My views:

-Shit happens, I might die as soon as I hit submit, I might live to be the worlds oldest man, no point in worrying about when it will occur. Not going to go out of my way to try to avoid it, but I'm also not going to see if I'll be the first person to jump off the empire state building and live.
-I don't care if anyone remembers me after I'm dead...I will have enjoyed my life, let them get on with theirs. Hell, I don't care if they know who I am now...
-My family will be fine...obviously, I'd expect them to probably be upset, but they'll get over it and move on in time, like 99% of the other people in the world do.

I didn't exist before I was born, I won't exist after I'm dead...the world survived without me for a few billion years now, it will do that same after I'm gone. The act of dying is somewhat scary depending on circumstances, but I don't actually fear death at all.

 

[Mole]

The life of the Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz, has come to an end.

Here is his poem, "On the Day the World Ends".

YouTube - ADBusters - on the Day the World Ends

 

[bluebell]

Are you in touch with your own mortality and all of its implications?


At times, yes. It's not something that I can look at closely too often. Part of me still believes that I will never die, another part of me remembers coming too close to it as a child. I tend to swing back and forth between those two thought patterns - that life is extremely fragile and death could be there at any moment, and that I (everyone?) is immortal and will never die. I know it's a highly irrational way of thinking, but I'm aware of the reasons why.

Is it of benefit to be in touch with our mortality?


I guess it helps to have some awareness of it, but maybe it's more fun to live in the moment and not think too much about it. I don't particularly enjoy the 'live each day as though it may be your last' motto. It seems to put a lot of pressure on making each day memorable/worthwhile.

What can a person do to be better in touch with their own mortality?

Near-death experiences (not recommended). *shrug* Not sure.

 

[Anonymous]

Mortality is a weird issue for me. Basically, it just doesn't really bother me when I think about dieing. Often in the past I've actively wanted to die. Hell, when I was a kid and a Christian, I used to ask God to kill me so that I could go to heaven. And I sometimes still do want to die (and I'm no stranger to suicide contemplation, though I've never been truly serious about it).

As for implications like family and accomplishments, well, I don't really like the idea of having kids anyway, and I don't care enough about my family to want to see what they do. My job/skills are also of little to no importance. So if I died right now, I think I'd be forgotten for the most part except for my family, and maybe my employer until she finds someone to replace me, heh. And that doesn't bother me at all. So maybe a large part of the fear of death is not wanting the implications of your death to come to pass.

 

[Akari]

Are you in touch with your own mortality and all of its implications?

Yes, but I haven't been in any close-death experiences yet. Sometimes I do have suicidal thoughts, but I readily accept the fact that I can die any minute.

Is it of benefit to be in touch with our mortality?

Yes. You don't really have to fear death and you are ready for it when it comes.

What can a person do to be better in touch with their own mortality?

I really don't know. I guess religion gives you some kind of hope, like going to heaven after you die. So it does help people comprehend with death, especially little kids.

 

[Grayscale]

Are you in touch with your own mortality and all of its implications?

yes... but i think to say it implies much is egotistical

Is it of benefit to be in touch with our mortality?

additional consideration will always prove advantageous

What can a person do to be better in touch with their own mortality?

be realistic with their lifestyle

 

[anii]

Seeing your parent die before your eyes as a child puts you in close personal touch with mortality. Thank god I suffered this; it gives you compassion. Ever heard of it?