Theory of Invincibility

[Major König]

Recently I have checked out the death thread and it made me wonder about it. Yet, I do not seem half as worried as some other people. For one, I have never had anyone in my small family die that I have truly known, and I have never had a close friend experience the same. I feel that without these incindences, people will not know death.

I for one view death on a conscious level as something that will never happen, or is not a major threat. Do any of you share that? Do you have that theory of invincibility where death is no worry, and neither is the possibility?

It seems that people with this theory about themselves usually take more shock from instances involving death, such as a close relation dying, or actually seeing someone in a coffin. An example of this clouded view of death is genocides. In our culture, we see so much 'fake' death around us that we take it lightly, and something like millions of people killed in genocide are nothing to us. Is death a worry to you? Are you aware of it?

[imb39]

As I'm probably half way through my life now, death is something I think about but only in the sense of retirement and ensuring that I won't be destitute. About 10 years ago, I was very close to death, but that's a another story I don't particularly want to go into.

I've experienced death on several occasions. Some were of people who were close (maternal grandfather and a friend's mother), others not so close (paternal grandparents). Currently one of my uncles is very ill and has been in a home for well over a year now (though he was expected to die last summer - the old goat just fights on (and I say that with love and admiration!)). When I saw him at his worst last year, it was a shock and I broke down when talking to a nurse about his condition. That was a cathartic experience.

My own mother is declining gradually in her dotage. When I was living abroad she had to go to hospital. I, of course, assumed the worst, but the illness was not life threatening in the end. I do wonder, though, how long she'll live. So I am constantly thinking of death in that regard.

Also generally when you are young, death is not a consideration and the young act as if invincible.

[Jesus The Inane]

Yeah, death seems so unreal to me. Partly because I have never seen anybody die, or have never been in a funeral, and neither have any of my family members died. But I do think about death, sometimes everyday of the week. I have seen some mammals dead, one time when I was walking to school, and I saw a cat dead in the middle of the street. He was gone. And it made me think. Then other days I have seen birds and rats dead. I guess that seeing a human body dead must be really different, or maybe not... how would I know?

However, I don't think I am immortal or something like that...

EDIT: Thats what I don't like about living in this society, its like they hide all this kind of things, I feel like if I'm living in a castle while outside the castle everybody is starving and dying... and I don't like to feel that way.

[Fabolous]

I think about death, and dieing, all the time. I have seen too many of my friends die, or come near death, in the past year, while I am just 15. It is something that I am constantly reminded of. But I know many people who never think about death, never think about what could happen to them or someone close to them, and certainly never think it will happen to them. Death in hurricane? No to me. Drunk driving accident? Not to me. Cancer? Not to me. That is how they answer those questions. Those are things that happen to other people, not to them. They are in for a rude awakening on day.

[Siblesz]

I've had to endure several deaths in my life, and I have an interesting way to react to it.

My family is quite old. My dad is 61 years old. Three of my four grandparents are now deceased. My cousin died when she was 13. The rest of my relatives are all dying, most in their late 80s and early 90s. So I've had to undergo death after death from relatives, not to mention the death of a friend two years ago, and the death of my dearest friend and dog just a month ago. This has made me increasingly stoic and immune to feeelings of sadness and hurt when someone close to me dies.

Knowing how often death knocks at the door door in my family, we are very down-to-earth with matters concerning death. I have the type of family that is very open about death. Stories abound about how my family reacts to death. For example, here is a typical dialogue from my family's renowned attitude towards death and dying:

My great-grandmother was near her death and complained time and time again of her upcoming death. She stated with passionate vigor, "Oh I'm dying! I'm dying!" Upon hearing this, my mother's reaction was, "Oh... no no no! You can't die today! I have a date with a handsome man today." She responded with, "Oh! I'm gonna die tomorrow! I'm gonna die tomorrow!" My grandmother replying, "Not tomorrow! Tomorrow I have to go to this meeting with some of my good old friends! What? You expect me to cancel the meeting just because you died? No no no!". Frustruated and with a decreased vigor of voice, my great-grandmother continued to state, "Oh I'm dying in 3 days! I'm dying in 3 days!" "Alright then, mother. That reminds me, I have this beautiful dress that I decided to wear at your funeral. Here it is..." "Oh it's beautiful!! You're gonna look georgeous! I'm preparing a fancy dress myself!"

And so on...

:laughing: Hahaha... every time I hear stories like that from my family, I crack up.

Another example describes how I react to death. My grandmother called me from Caracas one day and asked me if any of my parents were in my house. I told her they weren't home. She continued on to tell me in a very direct way how my great aunt had died the same day. In a very Stoic fashion, I replied, "Ok... I'll be sure to tell them." Then, so that I didn't forget to tell my mother, I wrote what my grandmother had just told me in a piece of paper, and then placed it on the refrigirator door with a magnet.

So yes... I was raised to pierce into the eyes of death and smite it. I have to admit that I've had my hard times facing death, but the hard times are not indicative of my pain and mourning, but of the shock of seeing myself forgetting and feeling nothing for close friends and relatives that have just passed away.

It's kind of hard to describe how I react to death. I think I refuse to accept that a person has died and therefore I feel no pain and only a few times break down in sadness and realize that a person is actually dead. I still expect to see my dog wagging his tail at me every day when I come back home from school. Every single day since his death, I open the door of my house expecting to see him, but once I don't see him with excited joy over my arrival, I let out one big sigh and walk straight to my room... and then forget about it until the next day when the cycle restarts.

[MoROmeTe]

Death... my mother died of lung cancer when I was 17... and she had been dead in my mind since I was 15 when the doctors told her the disease was not going into remission...

I deal with death based on this experience. I become a world hating, self loving, medicine distrustful, people despizing, philosophy reading, movie watching, music listening and friends avoiding machine. I do not exist as myself for a while and then I come back to being me...

As for my death I do not fear it in the greater sense cause I have not so much to loose. I can pretty much let go of everything, if need be. I fear the unknown in death and the pain in can imply, but that's it...

Somehow, I feat that fear of death tends to make us, Homo Sapiens Sapiens of the modernity, unable to get the full flavour out of life...