We give death metaphors. We cloak it in meaning and make up stories about what will happen to use, but we don’t really know. When a person dies, we cannot see beyond the corps. We speculate on reincarnation or talk in terms of eternity. But death is opaque to us, a mystery. In its realm, time ceases to have meaning. All laws of physics become irrelevant. Death is the opposite of time.
What dies? Is anything actually destroyed? Certainly not the body, which falls into its constituent parts of water and chemicals. That is mere transformation, not destruction. What of the mind? Does it cease to function, or does it make a transition to another existence? We don’t know for sure, and few can come up with anything conclusive.
What dies? Nothing of the person dies in the sense that the constituent parts are totally blasted from all existence. What dies is merely the identity, the identification of a collection of parts that we call a person. Each one of us is a role, like some shaman wearing layers of robes with innumerable fetishes of meaning. Only the clothes and decoration fall. What dies is only our human meaning. There is still someone naked underneath. Once we understand who that someone is, death no longer bothers us. Nor does time.
Death is
The opposite
Of time.
We give death metaphors. We cloak it in meaning and make up stories about what will happen to use, but we don’t really know. When a person dies, we cannot see beyond the corps. We speculate on reincarnation or talk in terms of eternity. But death is opaque to us, a mystery. In its realm, time ceases to have meaning. All laws of physics become irrelevant. Death is the opposite of time.
What dies? Is anything actually destroyed? Certainly not the body, which falls into its constituent parts of water and chemicals. That is mere transformation, not destruction. What of the mind? Does it cease to function, or does it make a transition to another existence? We don’t know for sure, and few can come up with anything conclusive.
What dies? Nothing of the person dies in the sense that the constituent parts are totally blasted from all existence. What dies is merely the identity, the identification of a collection of parts that we call a person. Each one of us is a role, like some shaman wearing layers of robes with innumerable fetishes of meaning. Only the clothes and decoration fall. What dies is only our human meaning. There is still someone naked underneath. Once we understand who that someone is, death no longer bothers us. Nor does time.
365 Tao
Deng Ming-Dao
Daily Meditations
Un fuerte abrazo Master L….
Ricardo
Great one, as always, will use in thought of the day! All the best & a lot of positive energy for you my friend 😉
A simplified version of Irvin Yalom’s argument in his “Staring at The Sun”, which is extraordinary and well worth reading…
Thanks for the suggestion, will look into it!
Hope all is good.
50
This is a simplified version of Irvin Yalom’s argument in his “Staring at The Sun”, which is extraordinary and well worth reading…
Thanks for the suggestion, will look into it!
Hope all is good.
50
Sorry about the double post, I was having trouble logging in… Yes, all is good, thank you. Wish you all the best!
No prob, I thought so 😉