The Lighter Side of Death

In the wake of the tragedy in Haiti I would like to talk about death and its effect on life. The death toll in Haiti could potentially reach over 300,000. It is one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. The Haitian earthquake could be even more lethal than the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 where more than 200,000 people were killed.

Death is like the air we breathe. It is all around us. It consumes us. Every day we wake up not knowing whether or not it will be our last. But we don’t necessarily have to fear death. Don’t get me wrong, death is an extremely scary subject.

There have been two different times in my life when I thought I might die, and I was petrified. The first was when I thought I might drown at Lake Mead while I was fishing. The second was in my bedroom when I saw a green alien hovering off the ground right below my bed (seriously I’m not even joking). Granted I was only ten years old, but I can still remember the feeling in my stomach that I might not survive the night. I remember praying to God that he might save me from the little green blog with big black, oval eyes. It’s funny how we turn to God in our most desperate moments.

There is something of vital importance that death gives to life. Death can give us a better perspective on life. Without death life would have no value. Knowing that we will someday die and not fully knowing what happens after death makes life so much more beautiful. Maybe we go to heaven or hell, maybe we will be reincarnated depending on our karma, or maybe its just worms and dirt for us. Life is something that has an end point. It does not pass go and collect 200 dollars. We all die at some point and that, my friends, is something worth living for. Why not live life to the fullest while you can? If every person lived forever then each moment wouldn’t seem nearly as precious. If there were no end to life then we would become bored, we wouldn’t have to make important choices and compromises, memories would become irrelevant, and people would have no care for the world. If something can’t be lost then maybe it’s not worth keeping. If I couldn’t die then I wouldn’t care about anything or anyone because I couldn’t lose anything.

With death comes the realization that life is extraordinary. Each moment is perfect. Time is merely perfect moment stacked upon perfect moment. Once you begin to grasp this idea everything seems to slow down. Time no longer flies by, but instead almost comes to a stand still. You will begin to feel a breeze of wind or ray of sun on your neck, you will spot a bird or a leaf falling from a tree, you will notice the clouds moving through the blue abyss or a drop of rain splatter on your cheek. Every moment in time there is something so perfect going on that you might fail to notice if you don’t take the time to look, listen, or feel. Everything happening around us might get passed by if you don’t slow down, take a deep breath, and let yourself realize that time isn’t passing us by but instead we are passing through time.

-Hayden Fulstone