Meditations on Death and Dying

Meditations on Death and Dying is a chapbook on life's best friend: The Angel of Death. The truth is that from the moment you were born, you were doomed to die. This is the absolute fate that is shared by all humanity, regardless of race, age, sex, culture, and financial status. Just as babies are born every day, people also die every die. While there are those who arrive, there are also those who leave.

Death is a subject that is ever occurring and would surely happen to you as well as to all your loved ones, including your enemies. However, only a few people tackle this matter as if it did not exist. I believe that man should not ignore the reality of death, for it might just be the key to life.

These days, many people seem already dead although they are breathing — the walking dead. They get too caught up in the system of the modern world that they fail to see the beauty of everyday life, not even the beauty of the sunrise or the moon and stars at night. When you think about death, you become aware of these things and see life anew — in a more meaningful way. Death simply helps you to be truly human.

As you can see, death should not be something that you must fear. You cannot escape it, anyway. But, it would be nice to face it with joy and peace. As a poet has written, "The gods envy a blissful death." Meditations on Death and Dying teaches that between life and death, there is a little space, and whatever you do with this space can make a big difference.

According to statistics, more than 100 people die every minute. Perhaps you do not feel it because you do not know one another or maybe because you simply do not witness it happening. Still, these deaths happen, and they are happening continuously while you are reading this — right now. Based on the same statistics, death happens every second. Do you still not appreciate the wonder of a single brief moment?  

Sadly, many people do not think enough about death and end up wasting their precious moments with meaningless and shallow things. Instead of loving and sharing, many of us end up hating one another, as if being angry and hating other people would make them feel better or at least solve their problems. Speaking about problems, do you really have to let them stress you out knowing that even if you solve all your problems and riddles in life, you would end up dead anyway? So, why allow yourself to be too pressured and stressed out by those problems?

Meditations on Death and Dying teaches that you should meet life and your problems as an adventure. You are sailing out in the ocean of life and the problems are merely the waves that you encounter. Sail on and experience the beauty of being alive, and know that Death might kiss you at any time. Therefore, love – love now. Love fiercely. You do not need to be reasonable all the time, for reason melts in the arms of love. Love completely. Love madly. Love passionately. Be true. Be you – and make each moment, each second, each life, each death, count. Make Death fall in love with your life.