Timor Mortis Conturbat Me

[poliphilo]

I spent longer than was healthy on Deathclock yesterday. I return with a message for you all- we're doomed, I tell you, doomed.

William Holden slipped on his bedside rug, hit his head on the bedside table, tried to phone for help then passed out. Because of his reclusive habits he wasn't found until four days later, by which time he was maggoty.

Chris Farley, that funny fat man, spent his last hours in the company of a hooker taking lots and lots of drugs. When he collapsed on the floor she thought, "about time too", took some pictures to show her grandchildren and left. Trouble is, he never got up again.

Benny Hill, that other funny fat man, fell asleep in his chair in front of the TV. Like Holden he was a recluse.....

But after a while these stories lose their impact. Yes, he died and the worms ate him- tell me something I don't know.

I think about death quite a lot these days- I guess I always did- but then it was all gothicky shrouds and scythes and happening to somebody else; now it's personal.

I'm not afraid. Not really. A little nervous perhaps, like in the dentist's waiting-room. Pass me that magazine...

Because I'm really, really curious about what happens next...

So life is short and death undignified but the question you have to ask yourself is, "have I found this excursion to the earth plane interesting?" Because if you can answer "yes" to that- as Holden, Farley and Hill all could- then I reckon you've cracked it.

Comments

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

I'm not all that curious about what comes next, but nor am I affraid of it. I don't mind Death, and I have been known to wish people dead without any malignancy but merely because they'd be better off that way.

I was happy when my great-grandmother died. She was 104, half-blind, half-deaf and 100% tired of life. Good on her when she finally went.

I'd be happy for my grandmother to die. She was recently committed to a care-home against her own (somewhat erratic) will due to severe dementia, and then had to be moved to a closed psychiatric ward a few days ago. She doesn't recognise her family, yet spend all her time crying about how her boys never come to visit her, even when they're sitting right in front of her. She's not happy, and probably never will be again. Nobody here can do anything for her, and even if i never liked the bigotted old hag, I still don't wish this sort of life on her.

If there is an after-life, I'm sure it's no worse than this one, anyway. I'm not saying we'll be dancing in meadows for eternity (God, how boring!), but I'm sure it'll be perfectly all right.

[dadi.livejournal.com]

I've never ever been afraid of death, since from my earliest childhood days the deep conviction of life after life has been rooted inside myself. My only fear, as I get older, is that due to my reticence to learn certain lessons, I'll have to confront them all over next time. THAT does cause me sleepless nights, oh yes.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

Most of the time I don't think anything happens next. I don't believe there is a hell (what could be worse than some of what happens to us here?) and the idea of dancing in meadows for eternity (thank you sorenr seems rather silly. Religion is something that was created by humans....

I'm in a bad mood this morning, I'll just fade into the woodwork.

Me too...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

"Because I'm really, really curious about what happens next..."

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I've found my excursion fraught with anxiety.

I'm also anxious about the process of dying, because I can't think of anything more lonely.

When I was in labor with my children, I felt connected to women everywhere, surely, but still alone. Because who but me could feel my pain? I fell asleep and dreamed that my contractions were glowing hoops of blue fire. But no one in the room could be with me and do anything for me but stand beside me.

My mother talks about dying all the time--every time I see her. She says, I want it to be quick.

But what if it's not quick? What if you're apparently asleep, lying there in a coma, apparently peaceful or unconscious, but in reality the real you is leaving your physical body and taking off for parts Unknown?

I would plan on enjoying the trip if I were the sort of person who enjoys bungee jumping or whitewater rafting. But being who I am, I plan on one long horrible panic attack, possibly for all eternity!

Or maybe we don't have nerve endings Out in the Beyond! One hopes...