Death is an interesting topic, and very much a taboo subject. I don’t think it should be. I think if we would talk about death more, without the clichees and reflect on it, it might make us realize that it is really just a part of life.
Of curz most of the time death is a bad thing, but it’s also a fact and inevitable.
Dying is the ultimate letting go. What happens with your stuff? What happens to your body? What are the things you did and didn’t do? Will any of it live on? How will the people close to you cope?
If we could let go of the fear of dying, maybe we would find it easier to live in the here and now. Coz most often we are either dwelling on or sentimentalizing the past or fretting or glorifying the future, full with worries, expectations, anger or guilt.
It’s quite ironic really, in some way humans act like they live forever, there is always another day it seems like, to do the things you love, to tell the people close to you that you love them, but on the other hand we are afraid of dying and don’t want to talk about it. I’m applying this to western cultures, i know some cultures deal with it differently.
We tend to forget how magic life is with all our jobs, things to do around the house, bills and just the daily routine in general.
From Wikipedia, “Assisted-suicide is legal in several jurisdictions, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and three American states (Oregon, Washington, and Montana).”
Assisted suicide is obviously a very emotional subject. I was very much in two minds about it. But i always thought if people suffer from a terminal illness and they tried everything and they suffer and it is just getting worse, if they can’t take it anymore and that’s what they want to do, who are we to stop them?!
As Terry Pratchett says in the film, “Who owns your life?” Well, that’s you. You own your life and you own your body, so you should decide for yourself what you want to do with it. Now, i don’t agree with this statement all the time, for example, plastic surgery, i think there is a lot of coercion and manipulation involved.
And i think that is also one of the main reason some people are against assisted dying, the thought of people being coerced or the act of suicide being made too easy so “everyone is gonna do it”. Which i think is a bit simplistic. Lots of people commit suicide and of course having to do it yourself, where you can’t quite be sure if you succeed or have a professional help you with it, where you have a 100% guarantee, does make it easier. While i do agree that it makes it somewhat easier, i don’t think accessibility alone stands between you and ending your life.
I don’t think anyone makes this decision lightly. What sort of a life is it, if you are in pain and suffer all the time and you just deteriorate from day to day and you can’t take it anymore?
One part of the issue i still feel uncomfortable with, is people with mental problems, like depression. When you get, as they say in the film, “a weariness of life”. You know, living in this world can make you depressed and the toxins in our food, air and surroundings aren’t helping. This is starting a whole nother topic. I just find it sad, and it is sad anyways when people are terminally ill, but i find it sad that physically healthy people can’t see any happiness in life, any purpose. I really think there should be alternative options. It does not say much good about our mental health system.
I have to warn you, this video is very interesting, but pretty tough. I had to stop watching it halfway through and go for a walk, it was just too much for me. Also they actually Show an assisted suicide, which i didn’t know before. So please be aware of that as well.
Maybe we can just tell the people close to us that we love them, appreciate the things we are capable of and do something we always wanted to do. Live in the Here and Now. At least as much as we can.
What do you think about death and assisted dying? Are you scared of dying? How do you live in the here and now?
The Forage 