To Live is to Die … ( 10 / 31 / 2011 )
To Live is to Die … ( 10 / 31 / 2011 )
“ Death is a very dull , dreary affair , and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it .” ~ W . Somerset Maugham
Today is Halloween , the “ day of the dead ”, so I guess the thing we need to really talk about … is death .
It ’ s the last thing we ’ d like to talk about , of course … We ’ d rather dress up in costumes that mock death and go to parties or gather candy ( or both ). In fact , we ’ d rather do anything but remind ourselves that our life on this Earth is tenuous ; that our days are numbered ; that we are , quite literally , running out of time .
And so we hide from that Truth — covering our heads under the thick blankets of hollow “ fun ”, melodramatic “ news ” or worrisome “ crises ”. We think that we can somehow gather enough comforts & pleasures for ourselves that death won ’ t come for us . We think that hiding under the covers of “ healthy boundaries ” and “ self respect ” and “ good times ” will have death somehow pass us by . We focus on making our lives as comfortable as possible by neglecting the one thing that can bring us real Joy ( that being open , selfless Love ).
And by doing so -- by in effect running from death -- we make our lives meaningless . Ironically , by running from death , we die …
“ Because of indifference , one dies before one actually dies .” ~ Elie Wiesel
And yet in order to truly live , we must choose to “ Die ”. In other words , in order to fully know the joy of living , we must have the courage to sacrifice our lives …
98