Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Cheerful Death


     All Souls' Day is a solemn time of the year. It is when we often gather round a table and share horror stories related to our personal encounters of paranormal happenings involving mysterious creatures such as ghosts and spirits, which could not be logically explained and might just be figments of our imagination. There is no concrete proof of their existence but we recognize their presence. We celebrate the realism and wonder of death and especially of life after death; that there could be another realm in this world--a place where we go to when we become intangible.

      Death is amazing and intriguing at the same time but it is something most of us fear. All of those that depict death scare us. When we talk about death, we most probably picture out a dark and cold place devoid of feelings and energy. This might be the reason why we light up candles for our departed loved ones. As Christians, we believe that when we die we either go to heaven or hell depending on how well we have lived God's commandments. There is no certainty with what would come next after death and we don't usually think about it but all this time we have tried to live a life for things and people worth dying for.

     Death is a delicate subject and just thinking about people dear to us who are on the verge of death gives pangs in our heart. We always wish we could stay healthy and live forever. I have realized it is not really death that saddens us but the sufferings that go along with it. Like a thief in the night, we'll never know when death is going to knock at our door; that is why, every single day we should try to prepare ourselves for its coming--by showing love and appreciation to people who care for us, by following our heart, by being sorry to those whom we have hurt, by being a blessing to other people, by obeying God's will for us. In that way, we can be ready any time. After all, nothing could be more gratifying than a cheerful death.

     Those who are hurting much more than the person on the verge of death are the people close to him such as family and friends. Was there ever a time you have wished a loved one struggling with illness would better be dead rather than continue living with suffering and pain? When I was 17, I had prayed my mother be dead. I'd rather God would take her away and remove all her pains than see her in misery. Looking at people hanging on the edge of life and death is a traumatic experience. If possible, I'd choose not to see a death happens. On the day my mother died, I went to school on an ordinary day albeit a gut feeling that she was about to die. When I was informed that she died, I didn't go to the hospital as well. When I was 11, I saw my grandpa gasping his last breath as he was lying in bed. That was the first time I witnessed someone died. Last year when our dog named Lucy was slayed, I saw deep sadness in her eyes. I just turned away, cried and went off to work. Even though she was just a dog, I felt anger for the perpetrator who took her life.

     There is so much loneliness in a thing called death. But if there is no such thing as death, would life be exciting? If we could be a vampire like Edward Cullen who's still 17 until now, would we be happy? I guess not. Death is designed for us by God to remind us to live a life beautifully.