Contemplating Death

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Many years back, a colleague of mine invited me to go camping with her and her husband. I had a tent of my own and I decided to tag along to Bukit Larut, the quaint little hill in the town suburb. We were resting at the foot of the hill when a big woody tree caught our attention. Oh, that could be used to make two Chinese coffins! I quipped. My colleague and her husband were instantly annoyed. Oh! How could you be so pessimistic! He said and his wife didn’t wait long to nod in agreement. After all, coffins are related to death and to talk about death, they said, were negative. But I was just trying to emphasize the size of the tree. I replied. You could always use other metaphor, my colleague then said. The tree was rather huge and I thought coffins, especially Chinese coffins were the perfect metaphor since they are really big and are made of wood. It would be ridiculous to say that the tree could be used to make 500 chairs or tables for example for the figure would make the metaphor rather insignificant. Anyway, what is so pessimistic about talking about death? Is the topic of death a taboo in our society… your society?

Comments

Liudmila said…
You know, I read some interesting things about functions of our consciousness yesterday (and wrote about it in my last post here
http://lazyyogi.blogspot.com/2007/10/energy-being-1.html

What I want to say , thoughts about death are not bad,I think. Bad is if they present with constance in the head. In this case I would say, it's necessary to do practices to purify this energy. I had bad experiences with it and now when I know this practeces, I do them, to purify obstacles, that these energies create.
October 10, 2007 at 1:47 AM
footiam said…
I do think too that the thought about death is not bad.To start with, we should all ask if death can be avoided? If it can't, then, it's reality and bad or good, we have to accept it. So, why not talk about it if you have an inkling to. There's just no reason to brush it away and blame it on pessimism.Negative things like drug abuse etc need to be talk about, so, what more death?
October 10, 2007 at 2:17 AM
Unknown said…
Death is inevitable in whatever from we dress it up as.

We are all one day closer to death for the better or the worse and your article is very appropriate for the essence of our blog - GO! Smell the flowers, while you still can!

Great blog, thought provoking stuff footiam, keep it up!

GO! Smell the flowers
http://www.gosmelltheflowers.com/blog
October 10, 2007 at 8:45 AM
JesieBlogJourney said…
Footiam,
I agree with Jim that death is inevitable. Enjoy while we can.

It hurts me to see those who suffer and are in critical health or hooked to machines for life support. In that case, don't you agree that death takes away pains and sufferings?
October 10, 2007 at 9:11 AM
footiam said…
Dear Jim, I do agree with you. I have not finished with the subject of contemplating death yet. Upcoming is a short take on Still Contemplating Death..there are more contemplations but I may or may not want to dwell on the subject too long . Meanwhile, let's smell the flowers. Life is too short and beautiful!
October 11, 2007 at 12:34 AM
footiam said…
Dear jessieblogjourney, I do think that death is inevitable too. Do read my latest short take on Still contemplating death. About escaping pain through death, I do think the living may go on feeling their pain, pain of loss of people you love.For the person who passed away, if the deceased is in a coma, I do really wonder if the patient feels pain or anything at all. It's the healthy people around the patient who will feel pain since they have a mind which is aware of the surrounding. Then, of course, if you believe in rebirth, death means a new kind of journey but then, this is another ball game altogether.
October 11, 2007 at 12:41 AM
Anonymous said…
there's an assumption that death is inevitable...but there are instances of some people not dying but walking into forever
November 1, 2007 at 5:07 AM
One Eyed View said…
Death is an inevitable part of life. It is part of who we are. How could this be a negative?
November 1, 2007 at 7:42 PM
footiam said…
It would not be wrong to say too that it is pointless to talk about what you know just like it is not wrong to say that it is fruitful to talk about what you don't know. Talking about what you know may make you realize how ignorant a person is. When you have a whole forest, you would perhaps just know a leaf well.If indeed no one knows what death is, how does a person understands death and believe in a person merely because that someone who claims to know talks of it. Besides, throughout history, there are always cases of people who claim to have experienced death but are brushed away as charlatans. Why should a person be brushed away and another be accepted? Perhaps, talking about things will render us more knowledgeable and enable us to recognize who is telling the truth and who is not. Anyway, it is not that everyone in this world takes death as an exit from this world. To some, it is an entrance to another world. If there is no death then, there is no change and you'll be stuck here on earth, and if you happy here, you'd probably think this is heaven and you wish it'll be forever.
November 2, 2007 at 3:29 AM
footiam said…
Some people believe in souls that walk. That probably means zombies to some.
November 2, 2007 at 3:31 AM
kovai_naicker said…
In South India, most of us Hindu people apply a smear of ash on the forehead each day in the morning. This ash is symbolic of the ashes of the dead body after it is cremated. Thus you are reminded of the mortality and impermanence of life every day so that your ego is subdued and you think of the Almighty everyday according to Hindu philosophy.
November 5, 2007 at 4:20 AM
footiam said…
My Indian friends never tell me about that but then I didn't ask. It's good to know.
November 10, 2007 at 7:40 PM
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