Today's word of the day. ha.
Does thinking about death always have to be gloomy? I'd like to confine this discussion to one's own death, if you don't mind, because that's funner. But whatever. You can certainly comment in whatever manner you like.
Blogagaard once had a multi-part series about the meaning of life. This makes my brain itch, so I am not useful in a discussion of life's meaning. Perhaps death has a meaning. Life seems to be just about making more life, more human life specifically. All those adaptations to survive long enough to procreate and to make healthy offspring. So the offspring can do the same. Great. I don't think that's so much meaningful as an explanation. The traits that survive lead to more survival. And so forth. And we believe that there's some meaning to it because optimism and faith are somehow evolutionarily beneficial. This makes sense, but not meaning. This makes me roll my eyes at the universe.
What could be the meaning of one's own death? Since we don't know what happens afterwards, let's just look at what we can know. We know we will decay and nourish the earth; for some this will take longer because they are embalmed and encased and entombed. Did you know you can have cremated remains made into diamonds? That gives me the heebie jeebies but I can see why people might do it. Victorians used to use the hair of their dead loved ones in jewelry and paperweights and things.
You could say that death has a meaning in giving meaning to life; you know your time is limited even if you don't know when it will end so you try to live it well. When others die, we take stock of both their lives and our own. We may do the same when we have a brush with mortality like illness or an accident.
The mind rebels at the thought that it could end.
On the other hand, it is spring and the lilacs will blossom soon. There's air to breath and things to read so what does it matter if the universe is a big pointless mess?
It matters cause Jesus says it does.
ReplyDeleteDo you know hindus have 2 gods associated with death. One is 'Yama' and the other more important one is 'Shiva'.
ReplyDeleteShiva is one of the trinity - the creater, Bhrama; the nourisher, Vishnu; and the distroyer, Shiva.
nothing new is born if the old doesnt die (this applies to new ideas and new phases in life, as well). However, this idea is not really limited to hinduism and a catholic priest in Australia used the words 'the creater, the nourisher, and the distroyer' instead of saying 'the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost'. He did this for about a decade, if i remember it right, and then some authorities woke up to it and nullified all the baptisation (is that the right term?) he had done.
i heard it on the news on the radio and found it very funny.
i like your word for the day!
ReplyDelete!!!
ReplyDeletewhat is it that i do? why dont people comment?
no! I'm here! How did you like this week's theme? Death & taxes?
ReplyDeleteI remember Shiva. I like the priest saying 'the creater, the nourisher, and the destroyer.' Didn't his parishioners mind? And wouldn't it suck to have your baptism rescinded? Would you go to hell if you died before you could get it redone?
Worse yet what if you were in heaven and the baptism got wiped out.
ReplyDeleteCheck out how Mormans can baptize you after you are dead - through "sealing."
It lends to some pretty fun afterworld travels I think.
That would be harsh. I would haunt that priest but good.
ReplyDeletehe he.
ReplyDeletefound your thanatopsis interesting!
and what did you think of last week's guest wordsmith?
yes, that was cool. I googled him and he writes Shakespearean historical fiction. It looks good, to me anyway.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786711760/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-3917015-7247954?%5Fencoding=UTF8
thanks for the link.
ReplyDeletei thought he was good, some of the awad mails i thought were a bit harsh ;)
yes, there's a little bite every now and then. today's word is anabiosis (an-uh-bi-O-sis) noun
ReplyDeleteA return to life after death or apparent death.
I don't know if I can find a way to use that one