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Kitsune · 11-18-2003, 10:36 AM

Death is weird.

After reading the thread about souls, I started to think about it. In our Western culture, we treat death in a strange way: Someone passes away, and we put them on display for a day, then despite the fact that the funeral is really for the living, we take all of the dead's wishes into account and [usually] put them in a nice, comfy container that looks a lot like a bed. Then we take the decorative box, place it in a cold, grey concrete one, lower it into the ground, and that's the end of it.

Other cultures treat the death of someone as a celebration of their life. The closest we get, here, is when everyone brings food over to the mourning household. When I lost a friend and witnessed that first hand, and the rest of the traditions, the first thing that ran through my head was, "This makes NO sense."

After getting past all of those "invinceable" years of my life and having a couple of experiences that made me realize I was very much a mortal, I've come to the odd realization that the only thing garunteed in life is that one day you will die. And while a lot of people seem to think that living forever would be a great thing, I know I don't want to be around so long. Even so, its actually a little disturbing, thinking about the day that you will die. Will you meet a quick end in a car accident? Will the last thing you see be the ceiling of a retirement home? All I can say is that when I die, I'm glad I won't be around for what happens afterwards. The customs and traditions are pretty weird.

Anyone else feel the same way? I was a little disturbed that through all the sadness I experienced in the death of a friend there was a prevailing "this is weird" emotion.

11-18-2003, 10:36 AM	#1
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Death Death is weird. After reading the thread about souls, I started to think about it. In our Western culture, we treat death in a strange way: Someone passes away, and we put them on display for a day, then despite the fact that the funeral is really for the living, we take all of the dead's wishes into account and [usually] put them in a nice, comfy container that looks a lot like a bed. Then we take the decorative box, place it in a cold, grey concrete one, lower it into the ground, and that's the end of it. Other cultures treat the death of someone as a celebration of their life. The closest we get, here, is when everyone brings food over to the mourning household. When I lost a friend and witnessed that first hand, and the rest of the traditions, the first thing that ran through my head was, "This makes NO sense." After getting past all of those "invinceable" years of my life and having a couple of experiences that made me realize I was very much a mortal, I've come to the odd realization that the only thing garunteed in life is that one day you will die. And while a lot of people seem to think that living forever would be a great thing, I know I don't want to be around so long. Even so, its actually a little disturbing, thinking about the day that you will die. Will you meet a quick end in a car accident? Will the last thing you see be the ceiling of a retirement home? All I can say is that when I die, I'm glad I won't be around for what happens afterwards. The customs and traditions are pretty weird. Anyone else feel the same way? I was a little disturbed that through all the sadness I experienced in the death of a friend there was a prevailing "this is weird" emotion.