You are going to die, but there is no reason to be afraid, and there is no reason to think of regret. In order to live, you must accept that some day, you will die.
Perhaps, you have wondered about death, questioned yourself about what it means to die, what happens after life ends, or maybe what it means to be a part of death itself. Answers are not so easy to find, and they are even harder to give. I will let you imagine for yourself what death really means, and instead I will talk about death for the living.
What an odd, contrary concept. Yet, it is not so alien a thing. Consider what it means to remain alive, as others pass. Ask yourself what death leaves behind. Decide for yourself what things are to be cherished and what must be allowed to fade. Whether you remember the way a loved one laughed — or perhaps the awful joy of a late relative's style of dress — it is precisely these things, incessant details which remain of most people after death.
That is what death is for the living: the definition of what it means to be human, to burn with bioluminescence, and with a whisper, go dark.
Death for the living is the knowledge that nothing is meant or made to last forever, and all things must eventually go dark. But, while the light remains, it is our decision, on our own terms, what we save, what we cherish, and what we keep with us, after the physical presence of others have gone.
Then, there is murder. The ultimate death, as it might be said by some. Many have sought the answer to the question of what could be worse than the taking of another life, but the answer is elusive. Many would also say that murder is an act so foul, it requires the response of death in return.
A death for a death.
You should question this with all your heart, you should think about death and what it means — to inhale and exhale, to ignite and extinguish — and then ask yourself whether you still feel just in giving out death, even as payment for murder.
It is apparent that death does not take into account who we were in life. So, if death is above what it means to be alive, and if no consideration of either your good or bad deeds can move death, it begs the question whether it should be within the realm of reasoned choice to consider what death itself does not.
Let there be no doubt, murder is a terrible thing. But, it is still a death, and death remains a thing beyond the scope of human understanding. We should not strive to usurp the province of the divine and see too far beyond the veil. Leave murder to death, and instead search for the understanding inherent in death for the living.
I have found my own understanding, and now you must find yours.
The journey continues right here and everywhere.
Last Updated: July 7, 2021
