.Good Morning Friends,
.today is Thursday February 11, 2010
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.Well, just one more day before the Olympics so that is the good news I suppose. I got out and about yesterday in the unit in spite of the rain. It felt quite a bit cooler so maybe they will get some more snow for the events. The weather guy says it is supposed to be warm again for a couple of days and then cool down again. So, maybe things will turn out after all.
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And, just how to I handle a topic like death anyway? I mean, why even bother with such a gruesome topic? I think death deserves our attention friends because it is such a huge part of our lives. Actually, it is our life long companion when you think about it. And, when we die we lose that relationship. Weird eh? When we die we lose that relationship. Now, that is a beauty isn't it?
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There are good and bad aspects to this business of death. First, the bad parts if you will. The outstanding negative feature of death is that it takes you away from life. We all love life and we want it to continue forever, but death will not allow that to happen. In this sense then, death is our enemy because disallows us to enjoy the things that we have come to know and love. But, death does not really act alone either you know. I mean, death cannot do its job without life; it simply needs something to extinguish; there is no death without life. I mean, the whole idea and understanding of life is the simple, brute fact that it comes to an end. And, that is what makes life so fascinating and wonderful; it is a limited event; it doesn't last forever. And, since man has learned to love life he necessarily views its alternative, namely death, with a high degree of negativity. And, that is why death has become the darker feature of man's life. It is black, it is devilish and Satanic and the like; it is the opposite of the sun and it is dark. Furthermore, since man has never experienced death he is naturally suspicious and fearful of it; he is afraid of the whole idea of death; of its finality and its opposition to everything that he has come to know and love. Adding to the misery of course are the events leading up to death. Mortality, in whatever form, is usually, but not always, going to involve some kind of physical pain. And, since man does not like pain and goes out of his way to avoid it whenever he can he is naturally fearful of the onslaught of death. So, death for man is something that is really not a pleasant thing to contemplate. It takes him away from his humanity and all of the things that he has to enjoy. Death is a real hindrance to continuation of life. Death is the enemy and opposite of life.
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Some people, however, are able to see good in death. Some religions, for example, stress the idea that when you die you go to Heaven and live with God for an eternity. Surely, that is something to look forward to if you are of a religious nature. The only catch though is that you have to believe in God and you must have a clean record to get into Heaven and to be with God and live forever. And, not all of us are going to qualify of course. So, those of us who do not qualify might come to think of death as still something undesirable. But, other people view death positively for other reasons as well. A person who has not had a fulfilling life for whatever reason may think of death as an escape from life, a kind of liberating feature if you will. I mean, what better way to end the ' pain ' of life than by simply ending it? I suppose that is an honest approach if you think life has been unkind to you. From this idea of course we get the idea and practice of euthanasia, which is simply a method of relieving an individual of his pain and allowing him to move into the realm of death. Many people believe in the morality of this idea and see nothing wrong with it. For, if life could not deliver the benefits that others enjoy then why not go for the alternative and remove the pain from your life? Who cares what the condition of death offers or what it is really like to be dead - surely anything is better than the pain of life. And, that is the brute argument friends for what it is worth. I suppose that the ultimate positive thing about death is that it is the opposite of life. Remember, death is the other side of the coin; life an death are inseparable things. They do in fact need each other for their very ' existence '. So, it really does not matter which of the two you prefer as an option. The whole idea and purpose of life and death is that you get to experience both of them, eventually, and for whatever reason. I think that would be the ultimate positive feature of death. It doesn't matter how or why you experience death, the whole point is just experience it. A problem arises, however, with our argument. And, that is that you cannot really ' experience ' death, you can only think and speculate about it. So, to move beyond the consciousness of man and really know death might be the final benefit of being dead. The religionists think that this is possible, i.e., when you go to live with God. So, living with God is actually being dead with God. Perhaps this is the very opposite of consciousness itself. Being dead without even knowing it. Perhaps that is the destiny of all of us and that is why something or someone took it upon themselves to create or allow to happen, this business of life. Death does really have a purpose and that seems to be allowing one to appreciate the other side of life. So, death cannot be all that bad when viewed in this light. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.
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P.S. don't forget racing at the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Saturday. Post time is 1600 hrs, West Coast time. Let us hope that the snow gods have done their thing and moved on eh?
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