Just how useful is it to meditate on death? In her Hamlet and Revenge, critic Eleanor Prosser posits that Chrisitan tradition views "meditating on the death of the body [as] but a preparation for meditating on the more important truth: the eternal life of the soul" (225). Do you agree? To what extent must we be always conscious of our physical mortality in order to live rich, productive lives?
18 comments:
I admit that although I would like to do so, I do not fully believe that there is a life after death, that somehow our soul will continue on after the body dies. However, I do agree with the statement that we as humans should be aware of our mortality. In light of an inevitable death, we can take care that we live life to the fullest, that we don't waste time. If we forget... then minutes, hours, days are lost when they can be spent more productively. With the knowledge that life doesn't last, we make sure that we are happy and alive rather than just living.
It is crucial that no one person be too fatalistic and consume himself with the idea of inevitable physical death. Being aware of one's mortality is essential, as it will guide many away from wasting their limited time on this earth and force them to live productively and happily, as Michelle said. However, over-meditating on inevitable death can be fatal (no pun intended). If you are dramatically over-conscious of the fact that one day you will cease to physically be, you will begin to "live everyday like your last." Recall the several movies in which a character finds out he or she has one month to live due to some malignant disease. I have a hard time believing that any person who has the mindset that he or she is going to eventually die ANYWAYS, either a month from now or years from now, will live life to its most "productive" state. "Living like there is no tomorrow" will only force one to live a FUN, ENJOYABLE life, not necessarily a productive, rich life. "I'm going to die anyways one day so what does it matter if I don't do my Hamlet essay, life's too short to get caught up in things like that. I'd rather play hackey sack while listening to the Grateful Dead." The bottom line is you cannot think about death too much. Once you begin to "over-accept" that death will come, you will probably stop giving a crap about anything important or productive because in the long run it won't matter what grade you got on your Hamlet film project. O yeah, and why did I even take time to write in this blog? Is it going to matter what grade I got in AP English when I could be six feet below tomorrow?
It is important to accept ones own mortality. If one doesnt truly accept it, it inevitably leads to approaches to life that arent grounded in reality (because death is reality).
Michelle, whether or not there is life after death doesnt just depend on the existance of a soul or heaven. It depends on how you define your self to be begin with. What features make you exist NOW, let alone after your death?
If one cares to define herself as her personality and memories, then perhaps there is no life after death. Our actions though, are deeply rooted to who we are and their consequences can echo forever. Perhaps in this sense, life after death is ultimatly a matter of perception, not a completly objective issue.
Mike, you imply the realization one will eventually die might make one careless. I personally though, experience something much different. It is because I know I will die that I do the essays, it is because I know I will die that I dont take unhealthy risks. The fact that my physical life is impermanant makes my time all the more important, it makes me feel like my life is an art.
When you live everyday like its your last it doesnt nesscesarily make you want to do crazy things, but rather it allows you to see beauty in even the most "sane" things. After all, sky diving has an obvious appeal, but the appeals of smaller things... like writing a blog entry or just taking a breath... are often only obvious when you look at the big picture (and death, in some form, will always be a part of that picture).
Tough topic, in my opinion. You could argue over any one of the good points made up above.
"Should we be aware of our mortality?"
I'm not too sure if thats the question we should really ask ourselves. I mean, we all know we're going to die. We're taught at an early age to not do dangerous things like run out on the road without looking, or to play with fire. Our mortailty is drilled into our heads from the begining. So, in perspective, it isn't a matter of being aware. We are made aware of the fact that we aren't immortal, wether or not we like it.
I think the issue is more or less about how much you want to think about the fact that we just don't live forever.
It gives life its appeal, that's for sure; if we knew we could get away with anything just because we wouldn't die, there would be no point to truely living. Because "living life" is only defined by our eventual death.
I hope im not being too confusing.
Anyways, I agree with mike when he says "It is crucial that no one person be too fatalistic and consume himself with the idea of inevitable physical death." You can't be obsessed with the fact that you're going to die, because it's going to happen anyways(as harsh as that sounds).
But how you want to live your life is obviously up to you, and I think that that is a beautiful privilege.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask who decides what reality is? And who judges what a rich, productive life is. I love appreciating the small details in life, and I've been through experiences that have made it clear that it's signifcant to do so. However, I don't think people should be too worried about how others percieve their life. You can choose how you want to be defined as. I also don't believe that our actions are rooted to who we are. You, yourself, chooses who you are, even in light of what society echoes.
I guess what I'm trying to say goes back to what I previously wrote:
Living your life the way you want is a beautiful privilege.
I too believe that there should be a happy medium in the meditation of death. On one hand, we will all eventually die physically so you must consider what comes next if anything. It is my personal believe that there is a heaven and a hell after death and quite frankly i want to be going upstairs. I also believe it will not be easy to get there. So I think that while on on Earth we should do our absolute best to live honestly and morally and work our way to heaven. Also, I do not think this is a waste of time because ultimately, even if there is no where to go after death, you will be a happier person because you know you have done your best to live morally and be a kind, caring person. On the the other hand being too obsessive with the afterlife can cause you to be happy but not be successful, for example skipping school to be with your family because you could die any second. A better way to approach this could be to make every moment with them count but also work hard at school so you can be successful in life and provide a comfortable life for your family in the future. While living on edge can be fun and exciting I believe there are more rewarding things in life and after that are worth the hard work. I'm sorry if too much of my Catholic schooling is showing through but this is just another side of the coin to consider.
I actually like Jessica's question about who has the authority to judge what a productive life is. I think that in life the goal of all people should be to be their only critic and only do and achieve things they want to. Now, that doesn't mean you should refuse things that aren't appealing at a present moment. Sometimes to get to major things we want in life, we have to settle for doing some stuff we aren't thrilled with. Like Mike's example, we can say "why should I be blogging for AP English right now if I could be six feet under tomorrow?" or we can realize that even though its not our top choice for activities to do right now, we do want success in the future and for most of us that means passing this class and going to a good college. Death should be looked at as innevitable, but also unpredictable. We can't make plans for after death because we don't know whats going to happen, so we're better off making plans on the off chance we have a long way to go down the road of life. If the road stops, I don't think any of us are going to be really upset that we made plans for the future anyway.
I think that concentrating on death is not worth the effort. Death comes no matter what; it is one of the only things that people can be sure of. I believe in the Latin theory, seize the day, to a certain extent. What is life if you are not willing to take a couple of chances? I agree with the fact that a person has to look at a picture as a whole. If you are a person of good morality you will weigh the consequences depending on what you want out of life. Overall it is not worth the stress and anxiety to try and please a greater power when you can try and help those among the living.
I agree with everyone!(almost) If someone obsesses over death, then they must not have much of a life because of it. Its like that "win for life" commercial with that guy who wears a suit of armor because he'll get money as long as he stays alive. How absurd is that? To wear armor in order to win money, and NOT because you want to live? Tch, how greedy. Going to such lengths only leeches the fun and meaning from life. Lauren also made a good point, that we cant predict death, so dont be too surprised when people all around start dropping like flies.
Personally I do believe that there is an afterlife, but I don't plan on searching for what that afterlife may be. Im Catholic like Brenda, but since no one has really retuned from death in the past two milleniums, I don't think anyone has a perfect view of what lies after death. We could go to heaven, we could be reincarnated as lobsters, we could rot in the dirt, the mothership might beam us up. But just in case there isn't a Mall of America, or a spirit- Dubai up there, I'll make sure to not miss any oportinities while I still have a pulse.
Like some of the people above, I also believe that you can not always be obsessing over death. Death is unavoidable. You can't be constantly worrying about how and when death is going to come otherwise you'll end up living in a plastic bubble. You could be killed in a car accident or even walking outside your own front door. Death can not be escaped so we might as well live it up. This is the only chance we get. Nobody knows exactly what happens in the afterlife so why should we waste our precious time here worrying about something no one knows anything about? I think its foolish. People should obviously not pretend that they are invincible and will live forever but they should also not constantly stress over death.
The nice little catch in this question is the definition of what a "productive" life is. Most people would define a productive life as one where they leave some sort of impact on the lives of others, or in history itself. With some people it may be worthy of a mention in a history text or a book somewhere, or it may be as simple and commonplace as simply leaving children behind, to carry on your genes; the productivity of your life is can all be dictated by yourself, and your view of what you have done, or failed to do, in your life. The carpe diem view that the previous posters seem to be making is probably the most common viewpoint, as well as being the method of life that will most likely leave the seizing person satisfied. I do not personally believe in any sort of conscious afterlife in the vein of heaven and hell, that is an issue for theologians and physicists to discuss (here and here) but as many other people said, consciousness of one's own morality is necessary to conduct a meaningful life, what ever a meaningful life really is.
like most of the other people who have already posted comments, i do believe that everyone should be concious of their mortality and therefore live their lives the best way they are able to. if you are concious of your mortality you are far more likely to live your life to the fullest than if you believe that you will never die. sure death is a scary thing and not very fun to think about but it will happen to all of us no matter what, so we might as well be productive and live happy lives while we still can.
Like everyone else, I think it is a waste to obsess about life after death. More importantly, I don't think it was God's intention for humans to have to worry about behaving well during life so they could go to heaven. After all, Jesus gave up his life so that all of human's sins would be forgiven. The purpose of living is just that-to live. If you live your whole life sheltered and avoiding temptation, you will probably have more regrets than if you go out in the world and experience as much as you can.
The earth is a evolving place. We all have our time here. The plants,rocks,animals etc. Everything must end. But my advice is to stop thinking about it and enjoy life now. I think that many people keep themselves busy so they don't have time to contemplate serious issues they are afraid to face. However, sometimes it is by daring to think about the bigger questions and examine your life. You discover who you really are and what really matters. I don't worry about my mortality. I know that I will die one day. I don't avoid thinking about things that scare me. Knowledge of my own mortality is part of what inspires me to go after my dreams, and to tell loved ones how much they mean to me.
Of course it is necessary to realize the fact that you will not live forever. Living for the moment is a key essential that as humans we must understand and live by. However, it is quote contradicting. Because living just for today could hurt you tomorrow. Each action you do does have a consequence, whether it is good or bad. So, therefore, yes you must come to the realization that your life will end, however, you must still live a "normal" life. Don't go out and think you can go get even with your unfair ungrateful boss by wrecking his car or house and expect to be just dandy tomorrow. Life is fragile, but there still is a fine line between living a life of risk and a life of awareness for your future.
alright so i agree with everyone else basically on the fact that yopu can't live your life meditating on death. thats not really a life. if you just concentrate on living every day to the fullest while acknowledging your own mortality, then your living for the day, which is how i believe life should be. plus, no one knows what happens after death, NO ONE! many people think they do and assume yet if they are still alive, then its pretty obvious that they have no idea what's to come. theres really no point in spending all of your limited time on thinking about something that's impossible to know.
This is clearly a controvershal question since some ppl beleve in life after death and others don't. I think the key is to not fear death. But to think on it everyday, if death is no longer so skary and we don't shy away from the things that may cause it as Jess talked about then we can go for the gold we can be the happiest most productive people we could posibly be
Yeah, so we agree that people don't know what happens after death, but that's what makes us wonder about it so much. It's inevitable. It's useful to meditate on death, because it helps people to be more logical, but only sometimes. I was reading a magazine with an article about Bethany Hamilton, who surfed and one day a shark bit her hand off. She could have died quite easily, and she knows that. Yet, she STILL goes out into the ocean, single-handled (literally!). Now, more than ever, she obviously knows the death risk associated with that. She trembles whenever she sees a shadow in the water, so why does she still go out? Not because she doesn't meditate on death, but because she lives. I don't think mediating on death really has all that great of a toll on people, because people will still do what they want, thinking "It won't happen to me since it already happened to her." So, yes, we must be conscious of our physical mortality (it's only human to be so), but I don't believe it has as big a connection to what we do in our lives as people make it out to be.
As all of us know there are countless different views on death and life after death. Or is there even a life after death? This question is asked by most people at some point throughout their lifetime. Usually there is follow up questions to this one, like "if there is life after death what is it?" Do you become an animal, an angel, or a ghost? Do you roam the earth aimlessly as your favorite animal or do you protect someone as another has protected you? Questions are ongoing about life after death. I agree with Prosser; any meditating we do about death, or deep thinking, is simply about the eternal life of our soul. Whether it is carried out through becoming a species or becoming some other part of nature. I feel that we must always be conscious of our physical mortality. We need to understand that life is short, and we have the power to make it even shorter, or as long as we can. If we are careless, life is most likely short. If we are cautious, life will probably be longer. This is why everyone must be conscious of their physical mortality. Life after death will never be properly understood until it happens to us. That is why we all should live with a "carpe diem" attitude and live life to the fullest.
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