Accepting my own mortality, and the naturalness of death - the final step in my JW recovery.

by fresh prince of ohio 61 Replies latest jw friends

  • paranoia agent
  • Apognophos
    Apognophos

    Apognophos, what though if things don't turn out well in the long run? I'm not sure I want to live to see how it all plays out. It's the unknown, the uncertainty, that drive me crazy and make me desire a quick and painless way out.

    Well, what if they don't? Even if we have another Great Depression, or a World War, it won't necessarily affect you or me all that much. People always find ways to get on. How much did the population decline in the 1920s or 1940s? Only a small percentage starved or died in war. For most, the going just got a bit tougher for a while, then things recovered.

    But to take a broader perspective: I mentioned before that I see myself as part of a continuum of life; notice I didn't say human life. I believe it was stated in Star Trek that any race that discovers nuclear power either eradicates itself within 50 years or overcomes its primitive destructive desires enough to thrive and explore the stars. If humans do something stupid and the entire race gets wiped out, guess what? If other life survives on Earth, some other intelligent species will arise. Out of the current advanced species, it could be dolphins, but it's more likely to be bears, octopi, elephants or even corvids. Perhaps as they evolve and develop technology, they won't have the more savage instincts that we do, and will make it further than we did.

    So in a way, I think the universe is just -- on the large scale. On the small scale, yes, people suffer needlessly, as do animals. On the large scale, either humans are a good idea and will overcome their animal roots, or a bad idea and will mercifully self-destruct and leave the planet to recover and try something else. Either way would be a just outcome. That being said, I think there's plenty of evidence that people are getting wiser, and technology is increasing our global awareness and sense of unity. I'm cautiously optimistic that people will overcome their tribalism and self-destructive urges and start colonizing other planets. That way, even if something happens on Earth, we'll have a "backup" somewhere else.

    If you're only seeing negative indicators for the future, that's an obvious sign of depression or possibly an anxiety disorder. As I said before, a therapist can help, and at least for the short term, some medication might be in order too. I think you'll probably look back on this period a few years from now and be glad you didn't make any rash decisions. There's a lot of wonderful things we can do and see in our lifetime, and the future is not something to be feared.

  • fresh prince of ohio
    fresh prince of ohio

    The "great depression" bit...won't we starve? Here i go again....who will feed us? Will the elite feel any obligation to the starving masses should the economic system collapse?

  • prologos
    prologos

    while I think for a good reply to the topic in my personal story context,

    For the relative peace on the big scale, we can thank nuclear weapons, the LEADERS do not want to be killed.

    But if it happens, the new starters will be the dolphins, octopei,

    water is an excellent protector against radiation.

  • rubadubdub
    rubadubdub

    You are right Fresh Prince, coming to grips with our mortality is part of our recovery from being a JW. It didn't hit me until this spring, as the anniversary of my former DIL's death approached. You see I hadn't really grieved her loss as a JW. I believed she would live again, and we weren't supposed to grieve too much, showing a lack of faith in the ressurection. I truly grieved her loss this spring. She celebrated spring--It was her favorite season. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I will never see that precious young woman again. She didn't deserve to die so young. Accepting her death led to my accepting my mortality. It makes me want to live life to the full, just like she did, knowing her time was short. I will always celebrate spring. RIP G

  • fresh prince of ohio
    fresh prince of ohio

    prologos i read something once that indicated that, should humans fail, that it will be so devastating to the planet that the odds of another sentient species evolving would be quite small.

    rubadubdub,

  • cofty
    cofty

    "Life finds a way" - Jeff Goldblum

  • Apognophos
    Apognophos

    fresh prince, you're almost willfully ignoring the positive parts of our posts like you can't see them :)

    Didn't I say that hardly anyone starved during the Great Depression? Heck, they were still making movies at the time. It was far from an apocalyptic scenario. And prologos pointed out that, in the event of humans obliterating themselves with nukes, aquatic life will be protected by the ocean. Life is more resilient than you think, anyway. I mean, it would be pretty hard to wipe out the human race. Some would be almost bound to survive, thanks to bunkers, living in the countryside, etc. Now I'm not saying it's impossible to wreck the entire biosphere, but it would take a lot of effort. The Earth has weathered volcano eruptions that make our biggest nukes look like firecrackers.

    http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/03/great-depression-had-little-effect-on-death-rates/

    It's difficult to find record of more than even a few dozen starvation deaths for that time period.

  • Gypsy Sam
    Gypsy Sam

    Mortality by Hitchens is a very small booK that is not argumentative or combative. It's simply him coming to terms with his illness and the acceptance of life ending. It struck a cord with me because I haven't had anyone I was close to pass away until a couple years ago. Without giving away too much, there was someone in my world diagnosed with breast cancer as a young mother. Upon the third return it was found in her liver, stage 4. I was in complete denial up until the end. Reading Hitchens book opened my eyes to how much more helpful I could have been in the situation, by accepting the inevitable instead of exhaustingly fighting nature.

    Oddly enough, my teen, who was extremely affected by this persons death, found no comfort in the resurrection hope. While that was startling to me at first, now I understand why she felt that way.

  • Pterist
    Pterist

    @Fresh Prince

    My "2 cents" on this topic is not the fear of death itself but the PROCESS. Like many here in this forum, most have seen loved one die and shudder what some of them experienced.

    It's a sobering though and very practical to do a living will as we face our fate of mortality in an anticipated known time period or unknown. It certainly enhances our love for life, the blessings that we may have experienced, and shows who and what is important to us with greater clarity.

    One of the blessings in the Christian message is that it overcomes the fear of death. We can see that in Paul's letters as he welcomes the release from this life, "absent from the body, present with the lord." Lots of examples of early first century Christians shows no fear of death, and in our time we have heard of JWs SDA and Christians facing death without fear under Hitler. Some will comment that they were delusional, however, whether that's true or not is debatable but the power and evidence of bravery at the point of death is not.

    I have my living will in place, my loved ones will be free from unnecessary government taxes and probate. I'm looking forward to death with curiosity and hope, however I'm NOT looking forward to the PROCESS.

    Shalom !

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