Thenatophobia is the fear of dying. This is not to be confused with necrophobia, which is the fear of things related to death (corpses, coffins, etc). We all have this fear, and to a degree it is an important fear to have. It keeps us from jumping off cliffs or playing in traffic or playing with poisonous snakes. Survival reactions are important.
This fear exists at a primal level much deeper than our reasoning, but seems to be enhanced by our sense of sentience. All fears are present experiences which are intruded upon by the past or present. It's a trick of the mind. The disconcerting thing about the fear of dying is that death, whatever it is, will actually happen to each of us. Other fears, such as a fear of being bit by spiders or a fear of falling from a height, may or may not happen, but death will definitely happen. This transcends the reasoning and comfort of faith. We often see atheists pray to god in a dangerous situation, or we may see religious believers become afraid, even though they are convinced they will go to heaven. The fear of the unknown looms in us all.
There is a simple solution to the fear of dying. The solutions is: DON'T DIE.
Don't die? What kind of advice is that?!
Well, by "don't die" I mean to actually live each moment. Embrace life and living. Enjoy the world around you at every moment. Never waste time on anything that isn't productive or that enhances life and love. Past and future attachments hold tightly to that which will be lost.
By living in this way we can find eternity in the only eternity that exists- now, this moment, never to be wasted.
What is there to be lived for today? What experience becomes life?
This fear exists at a primal level much deeper than our reasoning, but seems to be enhanced by our sense of sentience. All fears are present experiences which are intruded upon by the past or present. It's a trick of the mind. The disconcerting thing about the fear of dying is that death, whatever it is, will actually happen to each of us. Other fears, such as a fear of being bit by spiders or a fear of falling from a height, may or may not happen, but death will definitely happen. This transcends the reasoning and comfort of faith. We often see atheists pray to god in a dangerous situation, or we may see religious believers become afraid, even though they are convinced they will go to heaven. The fear of the unknown looms in us all.
There is a simple solution to the fear of dying. The solutions is: DON'T DIE.
Don't die? What kind of advice is that?!
Well, by "don't die" I mean to actually live each moment. Embrace life and living. Enjoy the world around you at every moment. Never waste time on anything that isn't productive or that enhances life and love. Past and future attachments hold tightly to that which will be lost.
By living in this way we can find eternity in the only eternity that exists- now, this moment, never to be wasted.
What is there to be lived for today? What experience becomes life?
No comments:
Post a Comment