For whom the bells toll

People are scared of death. Death is an unknown; death can take you anytime, without warning; death can be fast or slow; the journey to death is painful and scary; death can steal you away from your loved ones before you are ready to part with them; death waits for no one, and listens to no one. It is completely up to fate, how old you are when death claims you, how painful or painless should your death be, how you are going to die.

But death, it shouldn't be all scary. What's so bad about something that would bring you away from a life of worries and troubles, and deposit you in a little cocoon where you rest in peace forever? What's so bad about something that makes you cease to exist? Especially for those who have suffered from illnesses and pains up till death took them away, what's so bad about stopping the hurt once and for all? There are many theories of what happens after death. Some believe that they are just no more, some believe that they go to someplace better, some believe that they meet their loved ones who died before them, some believe that they get reincarnated, some believe that they can still look upon our world, some believe that they become ghosts and hang around, some believe, some believe. These theories are endless. Anyone can come up with something and we wouldn't know if it were true or not. I can say that after you die, you immediately wake up in another faraway fantasy land and live yet another life, with your memories and knowledge intact, and for all you know, I might be right!

And perhaps, that is what makes death scary-- the unknown factor. It is our nature to be afraid of the unknown. Things like ghosts and spirits freak us out, precisely because of how little we know about them. If we were to know more about death, if we were to be able to be prepared for whatever happens once we die, maybe we wouldn't be so afraid after all. Going into something we don't know anything about makes us fear for the worse. We don't want to go into a situation where what we feel and experience is not within our control. We don't want to die, because we fear that it would cause us to suffer even more, for an even longer time. Until we know more about death and what happens after that, we would never get over our fear of death.

But then again, this unknown factor makes sense. Can you imagine if it was a known fact that after you die, you go to someplace better, where you meet your friends and family, and exist eternally, without any pain or suffering? Who wouldn't want to die then? Everyone who has suffered a little failure or hurt here, everyone who isn't content with his or her life, everyone who has lost someone dear to them, they would immediately choose to commit suicide and go to that better place. Knowing too much about something isn't always good.

For me, I am not ashamed to say that I am scared of death. I am someone who is scared of the notion of pain, so I'm afraid that my journey would be painful. I am afraid that after my death, I would be subject to an eternity of torture to make up for the sins I have committed throughout my life. I am afraid of leaving my family and friends here, making them sad, perhaps seeing their hurt, but being unable to reach them. I am afraid that when I move on, I would be trapped in a boring nothingness. To sum it up, I am afraid.

But now, now death seems so far away. My friends and I joke about death, we joke about each of us dying, and having funerals. We say that we're going to die when we didn't finish our work, when we insult someone, when we get our hearts 'shattered' by someone else. Currently, death doesn't seem much a threat to us. But as the years creep on, I am sure our views of death would change. It would become much more relevant, and thus, much more scary.