Accepting Death

We will all have to face death, so we might as

well come to terms with it.

November is a month associated with death.

Think about it.

In the Northern Hemisphere, November is a time when trees shed their leaves as autumn progresses. Many plants will eventually die as winter begins in December.

Mexicans and a few other Latin American communities celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on the first two days of November. On the 1st of November, the Catholic Church celebrates All Saints' Day, remembering all those who have died and are in Heaven. The following day, All Souls Day is celebrated, where Catholics remember all the souls in Purgatory. The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of November towards praying for the dead. 

On November 11th, nations around the world remember the Armistice that ended World War I, a conflict that took millions of lives. Veterans, those who gave their lives in armed conflict, are remembered throughout November.

Yeah, I'm 22. A bit odd for someone of my age to be writing about death, given that my life has just started to get going. But the sobering reality of life is its end. We're all gonna die one day. We hope that death will come naturally, at the end of a long, happy life. Whether it does or doesn't, it'll come. Are we ready for it?

It's ironic that we can feel so frightened and unsure of the one certainty of life. But death is a part of our reality. Not just for us as individuals, but for the wider environment which we inhabit. Throughout history, civilisations rise... and fall. In 5 billion years, our sun will run out of hydrogen fuel. It will swell into a red giant, consuming entire planets before dispersing its outer layers, leaving only a white dwarf, a shell of its former self. Stars across the universe will eventually die a similar death. Astrophysicists predict that after trillions and trillions of years, our Universe may end in a state known as 'Heat Death,' where everything will be dark, cold and lifeless...

OK, let's try for some positivity.

Death is difficult to deal with, whether it's yours or someone else's. You can't fully prepare for it. But you can accept it. For many people, death isn't the final end, it's just...an end. That is comforting, I must admit. That our physical end doesn't have to be our final end.

So, try not to worry about death. Try not to fear it too much. That's tough, I know. It's natural for us to fear death; we are living organisms. But what is it to be a human, if not to rise above our base instincts? The fact that our life on this Earth is finite should spur us to make the most of it, to do something good and meaningful with the time that we have, to build worthwhile relationships with others.

Life is beautiful. Let us not spend it worrying about the end.

Let us accept death so that we can live our lives to the full.