Mortality

So hi
Mortality ? Contemplating your own mortality . Sort of a new concept for me . I don't obsess about it , but it's something that's entered my thoughts since struggling through a midlife crisis , or almost through it ( actually you don't get through it do you , you just go on changed ..like reverse pubity ..but that's another story ) . Yep , I get the idea , live your life , make every day count . Be thankful that you got lucky and lived long enough to start feeling a bit old . It is quite ironic tho as in your younger years you ( or at least me ) lived dangerously and never gave a second thought to risk . Perhaps it's just because you have lived long enough and experienced enough things that you finally feel you have something to lose ...so it concerns you ?
Anyway ...I'll die when I die . I copy that . No use worrying about it . There have been about 100 Billion of us born over the years and everyone one of them ( except us 7.5 Billion that are currently alive and kicking ) have had to deal with it . I don't expect to live to a ripe old age . Drink , smoke , spent 30 years underground sucking in diesel exhaust fumes every day , have given my body a thrashing . I don't believe in anything after . I think it will be the same as before your born , which was fine . C'est la Vie . Will check back in when I hit 100 years old and dispense advise on the how much beer one should drink a day to become a centurion ... it just weird thinking about it tho ?

I don't spend too much time thinking about death. I spend quite a bit of time hoping it arrives asap. I've made two major attempts in that direction so far. People who study these sorts of things tell us that the more attempts one makes the more likely it is the person will die by their own hand, so to speak. I don't have any plans toward that end at the moment, although it does occur to me from time-to-time.

I don't believe in any sort of life after death either... no heaven, no reincarnation, etc. I accept the explanation for the existence of life on earth that is provided by the theory of evolution. There is a sense in which it might be nice to imagine I could come back & be the person I never got to be in this life. But, on the other hand, an awful lot of people in this world end up being born into horrific conditions & I certainly wouldn't wish for that. So, all things considered, I guess I'm just satisfied to have my demise be simply the end.

Thanks Skeezyks
I decided to research who Ono no Komachi was . I thank you for enriching my life with this interesting person . I particularly liked this one , Just for its raw honesty and beautiful form . Today you made a difference in two people's lives . One , a long dead Japanese poet who was remembered and the other a functioning alcoholic redneck from the bush .

A life in vain.
My looks, talents faded
like these cherry blossoms
paling in the endless rains
that I gaze out upon, alone.

Funny. I have a 13-year-old German shepherd whose hind quarters are in very bad shape, & she's starting to have occasional accidents in the house. I didn't generally think much about mortality until I saw my dear dog decline as quickly as she has. It's really made me contemplate growing older & having mortality close in. Since my GF works long hours & I'm on SSDI, Hildie is pretty much my only companionship during the day...she's my dear friend. So...I've digressed & made your thread about the imminent death of a dog. I've been contemplating the fleeting nature of health & the inevitable nature of death lately, though. Animals can teach us lessons - some are wonderful, while others are very sad.

Hilde . She sounds like a wonderful friend . For me a dogs life is just as noble and important as any person I have met .

I think about what the afterlife is like

i often 'practice' dying, previewing death. i have had the atypical OTB (dead and back) experience, and 3 very VERY realistic death meditations. in most of those i retained my identity (which is NOT what my espoused philosophy teaches); but once, the most intense one, i was merely an awareness seeing a life as it was truly lived, without the haze of self-interest. it was quite shocking and took me a long long time to get past. now i am a little more careful about what i do intentionally, carelessly and without regard for it's impact on others. i think anyone who learns that lesson, no matter how, has made major progress in living (and perhaps in dying).

i have lived so close to death for so long, i think of it as one of my best friends, and welcome our reunion, even if i might well dread what comes next....

I envy your faith Teddy Bear . In the end you can't be wrong . Either it's there and you are vindicated ....or it's not , and you have lost nothing in its comfort in the here and now .
Thank you .

A high stakes game Gus , of which I would never profess to have any understanding .
Thank you

What Arch from Oz writes, Teddy Bear. I don't believe in an afterlife, but I sometimes worry about getting to some metaphorical "Pearly Gates" & being turned away! That's a rather ironic position to be in!

For me ( and just be mindful , I had 5 hrs sleep , then a dozen hour shift , then 4 beers , so don't be surprised if I'm talking left handed ) ... it's just our awareness . We each can't imagine we could just be here and then just pass ...and be gone . It's ok to watch an ant being carried off and think " ok , he's done for , he's gone west , the fat lady is singing for that guy " but our awareness feeds a belief we can't be this amazing , complex creature , and just return to the dust . It's why I never can bring myself to kill anything . I think " for the grace of god that could be me there , I could be trying to build a nest on that barbecue " . I could be that plant , or that fish , or anything , it's just luck of the evolutionary draw . No one gets out of here alive . Yep that was pretty left handed ....

Not left handed at all, Arch from Oz. I actually found it kind of profound. I don't kill insects or anything, either. I catch them & put them outside when they get in the house. It drives me crazy when my girlfriend kills spiders. There's no better pest control than spiders. It's all a part of life's cycle.