Today my roommate asked me about my plans for tomorrow(it’s my birthday).I told him that I have not celebrated my birthday for the last 3 years and that I have no special plans.He was quite surprised and started asking me a series of questions.And then I gave him this epic explanation that my father would give me during my childhood for not celebrating my birthday-”There is no point in celebrating birthdays.If you think logically,you are approaching your death.You just lost another year from your life.”Well,it did shut my roommate’s mouth just like it did mine 10 years ago!
My roommate’s question however evoked a thought in my mind.I was contemplating about the idea of death and could not find out why people fear it.Death is the most feared thing on the earth.No one wants to die.People fear the unknown.They are too much consumed by the world’s superficial beauties,mortal relations,I found the whole idea very perplexing.
Frankly speaking,I have never feared death(I have only feared my dad,and I still do 😛 !).
I always had a reason for not fearing death.People have different reasons for fearing death.But all of them would fall in one of the categories below.
1.Atheist
An atheist does not believe in god.So there no point in having that dreaded question-answer session with the god post death.An atheist is a non-believer of god for there is no compelling evidence that proves the existence of god.Going by the same logic,an atheist should not believe in reincarnation as there is no concrete evidence behind it.Thus,an atheist should not fear the events that may follow his death.The only possible dreadful thought regarding fear of death for such a person can be due to his emotions attached with the family,unfinished things,etc. But since he has to ultimately reach the point of ”no existence” after death,this fear is not justified.He will not have any emotions,he will simply have no existence.It’s hard to imagine this state,but I can relate it to the state of being in deep sleep.There will be an everlasting peace.
2.Theist and believer of reincarnation
If a theist believes in reincarnation,then he should not fear death because he is going to take rebirth.He will again start a new life with no past memories.
3.Theist and non-believer of reincarnation
If the theist is a non-believer of reincarnation,then he may fear that he will have to answer his deeds.This fear can only exist when the person feels that he is doing something bad intentionally.He may think of starting an honest life from the next moment.So,he should better start correcting his mistakes and try to lead a life of honesty.Even if he dies after having this thought but before he could do something good,then obviously he shall not face the repercussions of his past mistakes(god,if it exists,can’t be so heartless!He will at least get a chance to explain his actions).
The only people who should then fear god can be people belonging to the 3rd category who are aware of what they are doing.Am sure there are people on the earth who believe in god and yet indulge themselves in doing dishonest acts,cheating others intentionally,propagating hatred and spreading violence.If anyone should fear death,then he :
a)has to be from 3rd category.
b)must be dishonest and aware of that.
c)must take pride in his wrong deeds.
What really perplexes me is the existence of such people,who believe in god,yet commit wrong deeds,and still take pride doing all this.If this is possible,then I don’t care if such people fear death.I don’t give a damn.
For all other people,I just showed why your fear of death is irrational.I would like to end this post by this quote that came to my mind-
”It is not the death that we shall fear,
if we have to fear something,then it has to be ourselves.”
P.S-I will be busy with my exams for the next few days.I will be offline from 4th dec and hope to revisit my blog by the end of next month.Wish you all people a very happy Christmas and an amazing new year!
Afterburn 
You’re one year nearer to death. Correct. This means, there is less time left to enjoy. Why don’t you enjoy it on every occasion you get? Start with your birthday, because after that, that’s one day less to enjoy.
And, as an atheist, I don’t fear death. I am sad, because I will leave people behind who will probably be sad, but fearing that? No.
My parents never celebrated my birthday the way I had wanted…I spent my whole childhood like that….When I came to college,I realized that I didn’t want to celebrate it…I didn’t seem to have any zeal for my own birthday.So I stopped celebrating it.I may start celebrating it again once I start earning on my own 🙂
You are so much like my youngest son. I send you light, LOVE and gratitude for sharing your brilliant thoughts, insight and wisdom.
thank you so much for your kind words 🙂
It’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow – Dec 4th…
We’ll be out celebrating over dinner and warm wishes.
As a youngster no-one celebrated my birthday; I didn’t receive birthday cards or presents.
Things were going to be different for my daughter. I made a great fuss over her birthdays with all the trimmings. Today we celebrate birthdays with great cheer. I love to make a fuss and have a ‘little’ fuss made over my birthday…. Yes, it means one year closer to death however, what does that matter… we’re going to die one day; tomorrow or next year… who cares…
Life is for living, and I’m sure gonna live it… 🙂
I wish my parents thought like that…anyway,right now I want to continue to be in this ‘denial’ mode….Yes,I will celebrate my birthday,but once I start earning my own….and it will be grand 😀 may be from next year.
Am still dependent on my dad’s bank account for my all college expenses.Am sure he won’t give me much money to spend on my birthday.
There is no point in inviting one of my friends for the treat and leaving two others due to limited budget…I hate that…
And wish ur daughter a very happy birthday 🙂
Thank You; I will give her your best wishes…
And
Happy Birthday to You…. may you enjoy it regardless of what you are doing, and who you are with…
Once again..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU… xoxoxo
Thanx a lot 🙂
Happy Birthday! Even if you don’t celebrate it, at least enjoy the day 🙂
Hey…thanx 🙂 Yeah I’ll enjoy it in my way 😀
Happy birth day.. May you have wonderful life ahead..!
Thank you 🙂
hey, happy birthday! 🙂
and happy Holidays as well 🙂 i just took my exams and i think i got it in the bag 🙂 do well ^^
Thank u soooo much Kz 😀
Philosophy…
Good… so much of profound wisdom from a young mind…
I believe that the fear of death is actually not the fear of death but the fear of the instrument by which death will come… for example, if i had the chance to choose how I would die, I would want to die peacefully in my sleep. The fear comes, when one thinks, it might be due to accident, it might be due to a long suffering, it might come as a painful and immobile last years, etc…
It is the suffering that we fear from, and not death in itself.
Had each one of us, been given the decree that we would die peacefully in sleep, fear of death would not be so prevalent – for one wouldn’t even know when it would happen.
And yes, Happyyy Happyyy Birthday, fellow Sagittarian..
That is not one more year closer to death, but one more year of a well-lived life…
Celebrate life – always. Even if it’s 20 years long, or 90 years long… learn to celebrate the joy of living, and not to mourn the passage of another year – that is like, negating a well-lived life.. why?
Why would you want to do that?
Celebrate – if you have touched hearts in the previous year
Celebrate – if you have helped friends
Celebrate – if you have helped strangers
Celebrate – if you made your parents smile – I am sure you have… countless number of times
I can give you numerous reasons to celebrate this birthday – a milestone of a righteous life.
OK OK… I will end here.. … i could keep going on and on!! Oh Me!!
You mentioned a good point,the instrument of death…Well I don’t fear that too….Not everyone is gonna die in an accident.And believe me,mental pain and agony is more intense than physical pain…Most of us have already faced mental pain.
Anyway,given a choice I would like to die in my sleep just like you… But Still I don’t fear the instrument.
btw thanx a lot for your wish,fellow sagi 😀 …and lol…u gave me so many reasons to celebrate.u could have made a new blog post regarding that!
I had a good time today…Boozed with some of my close friends…That’s how I celebrated it this time 😛
we have to fear ourselves, not death.. so true..
You got the crux 🙂
Like SageDoyle, I’ve nominated you for the very inspirational blogger award – because you are! http://wp.me/2MIsj
Thank you sooo much 🙂
Am bit busy with my exams…but I’ll take it up as soon as I am done with them…Thanx again!
Ahh this birthday thing… I personally don’t fear death either, and that’s because I believe in reincarnation, although I can never be sure, but at least, having faith in something like that can overcome the fear of death.
Great post!
Thanx 🙂 …..Am glad that you don’t fear death…!
Nice and interesting blog! Thanks for following “Known is a drop, Unknown is an Ocean”. 🙂
My pleasure 🙂
I also don’t like birthdays, after your twenties, you just wanna stop getting older because people will expect more from you. As for death, I’m an athiest but not a strong one if you know what I mean, I believe there’s a God somewhere because how else did we, intelligent beings come into existence?
I can understand what you are saying…I think you have agnostic views….I can answer your question,but that will require me to make a whole new post……May be I’ll do that by the end of next month!……thanx for commenting 🙂
I’ll wait for that post, thanx 🙂
There are many reasons why you should celebrate birthdays. As every moment is a gift from God to me, and I am a theist and a Christian, I celebrate both the beginning and every moment of life. Some good thoughts here but I still love to celebrate every birthday and hope I always will, though I know many do not.
I a not against people celebrating birthdays….I just have some personal reasons for not celebrating it at the moment….It’s good to celebrate everything about life,but I am not in a celebration-mode right now…btw you said you celebrate both the beginning and every moment of life,….so I would like to ask you can you celebrate the end of life too?
Awww wordpress just deleted my comment I was working on. Oh well. Thank you for asking. In short, yes and no.In a paradoxical way that my faith affects many parts of life, I truly believe that I will see my Savior after death (I’m a Christian, so I believe in the after life, but not in reincarnation, unless that’s a more general term than I’m familiar with), and I think that is definitely a joyous welcome home, but death for those saying goodbye to the one leaving is goodbye so it’s not something that I think we can appreciate as happy, at least not from this side of heaven. I don’t think Death was part of the original plan for us, but Eternal Life was, which overcomes Death in the end. Like one of the other commenters said, I could write a long post on this. Thanks for your thought provoking post.
Also, certainly didn’t mean to be critical of anyone else’s views, or especially personal feelings. I’m sorry you’re feeling less than celebratory at the moment and for whatever personal things you’re going through.
So I think I can at least assume that you are not afraid of death,you might be unhappy about the idea of leaving the closed ones,but certainly not afraid of it!
And you can be critical of my views here…not a problem…Thanx for commenting 🙂
Thanks for landing on my blog, through which I have now discovered yours! A very interesting post, one that I can thoroughly relate to.
Well, belated birthday even if you don’t celebrate – the fact that you are alive and posted this gem is superb! Cheers.
Thank you so much 🙂
There is something about your icon, that, is rather astonishing. In a enigmatic way. Anyhoo, cheers and thanks for bearing this silly message!
lol….am glad that you like it….
“…one more year closer to death”
~ What a dismal way to live one’s life! I feel rather sorry for your Father…
As another commenter said: “Far better to celebrate every moment of Life!”
I do not “fear” death – it is but one more shift of view for the Soul, sort of like learning to walk, or puberty, or marriage (or divorce).
Fascinating collection of thoughts here – I shall return!
It’s good that you don’t fear death…thanx for your comment!
I think I fear your dad a little too.
lol… 😀
My two bits. When I was very young (I must have been less than ten years old), we shifted to a new house and I came to know from my brother that there had been two – not one, mind you 🙂 – unnatural deaths in the house before we moved in. That led me to think unendingly on death, and I thought, quite correctly, that one can never know what death is unless from first hand experience. And I started thinking of ways to die, simply to know what death would be like. I remember contemplating over a kitchen knife – just before dinner, while my family watched the day’s news – and I decided not to try it. These were my exact thoughts:
1. Irrespective of the time or instrument, my death would upset plans, both my own and of my family
2. I will not be able to reverse the decision…. (my belief in god and religion soon went after that)
3. It would be very painful. And since death is inevitable, I might as well shelve the plan for later.
It was years later, when I was in college, and reading Camus, that I discovered the same line of thought. I think he discussed it in Myth of Sysiphus, and the third point corresponds to what Camus calls “elision”.
Why I’m writing so much? It’s because I have found in you a kindred spirit, and would like to tell you from second hand experience: death is never peaceful or quiet, even when it happens in sleep. The only thing one can desire is a quick passage. And it’s best to leave it at that. Life is better, anyday.
Thanks for a wonderful post.
The important thing is contemplation…We both got rid of this fear,once we contemplated on it.Generally,people tend to avoid all sort of thoughts related to things they are afraid of.
As soon as we realize that death is the ultimate truth,there is no more fear about it.
Thanks for taking your time to post such a long comment 🙂
By the way,the house that you described sounds interesting.Did anything spooky happen there after you people shifted? 😀
Nothing at all! We lived there for fifteen years and never made any ghost friends.
I love ghost stories…You just killed my expectations 😦
Aww 😀
I think we fear death out of an evolutionary pressure: those who fear death are more likely to avoid it. And I read that the older you get, the more you can imagine your own death. Younger people do not take the idea seriously.
You might be true about that…Thanks for providing a new dimension 🙂
firstly belated happy birthday 🙂 ….i love birthdays…i once didnt fear death infact that was like a crazy time then things changed…am still crazy and twisted but now i do fear death a little…
Thanks a lot…I love attending ‘birthday treats’ 😛 …by the way,which guitar are you holding?looks quite similar to mine except for those lovely stars on the fretboard 🙂
wish that was me in the picture with the guitar..but thats avril lavigne… 🙂
lol….I couldn’t see the face…you don’t play any instrument by the way?
nah i cant..i did wanted to join guitar classes almost planned everything but the office hours kind of make sit difficult…
You don’t need guitar classes to learn guitar…You already watch so many songs on youtube…You can use youtube for learning guitar too 🙂 …Just buy a guitar and start doing it.
I can’t truly say that I’m not afraid of death.I think I’m not but sometimes I am?
By the way, from your post you may focus on people who believe in God or who don’t, correct me if I’m wrong. However, there are other people who don’t believe in God because they are simply in diffrent religions or believes which don’t have God. Ok, some religions may believe in reincarnation. However, there are some that fall in these categories who fear of death just because they are worried about their loved one. If they happen to die, how people who rely on them continue living on. For example their children or spouse or parents. And I know there are a certain amount of them around me who think like that.
For me death should release me from the life of the happiness and unhappiness.
Leaving the loved ones can’t be a cause of fear of death…Read the 1st category that I mentioned……”The only possible dreadful thought regarding fear of death for such a person can be due to his emotions attached with the family,unfinished things,etc. But since he has to ultimately reach the point of ”no existence” after death,this fear is not justified.He will not have any emotions,he will simply have no existence.It’s hard to imagine this state,but I can relate it to the state of being in deep sleep.There will be an everlasting peace.”
Ah yes, sorry to miss that as it fell in category ‘Atheist’ which I think Atheist are different from those around me who are Buddhist and some of us may not even think about God existence (or not) as this idea is beyond our interest.
🙂
I see…
Jeez there are tons of comments on here! I didn’t read them. I just wanted to drop by and say I think we fear death because our natural instinct is to live. You know….like animal instinct. Thanks for the add by the way. I’m planning on scoping your blog out more when I get the time, but sadly, that can’t be today 😦
You are true about the natural instinct….but that’s the reason why we need to contemplate on this topic…Once we find that our fear is irrational,we tend to enjoy life more.
Death is the ultimate truth, for anyone who has taken birth has to die one day…So we can accept the fact and live each day to its fullest,without caring much about tomorrow.
”Dear tomorrow,do whatever you want to do….am not afraid of you because I have already lived my today”….Read this quote somewhere and it’s kinda stuck with me!
You can check out my blog when you get the time…thanks for your comment anyway 🙂
I most definitely will. I like the quote but yet still, as someone who has stared death in the face a time or two, I will say our natural human instincts are almost overwhelming. Obviously not completely because there’s plenty of suicides out there, but I still have to argue that it is that instinct, which is so primal and so ingrained, that probably causes us to fear death more than anything else. Intellectually its easy to argue fear of death away, until it comes down to dying. That instinct then rears its a head in a way that makes the headlines and the movies. You’ll never find me normally agreeing that our intellect isn’t greater than our biological instincts (I’m the first to argue against that idea!) except for this regard. Been there, done that. Still living.
Well suicide is committed when a person fears his living more than the idea of death.
I haven’t experienced death on face, but there was a time when I spent my whole 2 years dying each day….. I didn’t have any plans of committing suicide but I would not have cared if a truck hit me on the road in those days… But I remained patient and I don’t regret living today 🙂
And again, the conflict between biological instincts and intellect is a subjective matter… I like to challenge firmly held ideas by the way(of course in a logical way without trying to offend others)… just for fun 😀
people really do not fear death. The way humans handle their lives taking most of the mundane things for granted simply proves that no one is really that scared of death. If we really were the world would be in a more precautionary state and not in the reckless mess it is now. Read the Connecticut shooting. Yes while you are busy studying for your exams in some engineering college,
people are killing people everywhere.
only people who are nearing their death have a reason to fear it. And the realization that you are nearing it does not hit till you are actually near it : if you have a life shattering experience with grave physical injuries or some really traumatic experience, thats just when you want to die.
The above is a reply to your assumption that death is the most feared thing on earth. No one wants to die.For the same reason nobody wants to lose a hand or a leg or a loved one. It is the loss that is overwhelming, the sense of loss rather and what can be more traumatic that losing your own existence which again most of us end up taking for granted until we reach the limits or are pushed towards them.
I like the snow white thingys on your blog.
We should not fear death because their is nothing to fear.You have put forward the rationalizations for the same which are okay, just give it more thought.
I just read the Connecticut case… The shooter had personality disorders. It has nothing to do with his fear of death. In my post I have tried to focus on normal people.
People associate this ‘loss’ with death… I have seen many of my friends saying the same thing… They say that they fear the loss but don’t fear death… Well, consider a cynophobic who says that he is not afraid of dogs, he is just afraid of the dog bites…
The fact remains that it is the death that people are ultimately afraid of!
You mentioned nothing can be more traumatic than losing your own existence…. But when you die you simply don’t exist to experience the loss…. So how can it be a traumatic experience for someone who doesn’t exist now?
I appreciate your honest thoughts and thanks for liking the snow white thing 🙂
I love this. I genuinely do not fear death, have no problem with it, If i was hit by a car tomorrow I would not fear it, it just happened and I won’t be there to remember it happening either. I dont believe in the afterlife or anything like that, I just believe it stops. How can you fear nothing? Nothingness is not emptyness, emptyness denotes an absense and that can only exist if there is a binary, of a something there. Maybe thats the english student coming out with some theoretical Derridian approach to rationalising it, but. You cant fear something that doesnt exist. People fear death because they will miss people, miss life, miss out on things, and yet, you won’t know.
Sorry for my random rant, it just sparked something in my head. Love that someone is not scared of dying like me! x
Ah! So nice to know that you too know about this ‘nothingness’ … You and your rants are always welcome on this blog! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Hey…wishes from my side…
Happy Birthday…
http://apparitionofmine.blogspot.in/
Really nice post! At this point I would usually say ‘Happy belated Birthday’ but I can’t see any way to make it sound positive as you are one year closer to the finish line. I guess, it’s acceptable if I say ‘Congrats, you now are one year wiser’ 😉
Oh, also: Beautiful quote.
Scarlett
Thanks for your wish 🙂 …
lol, I don’t celebrate my birthdays for different reasons … 😀
Glad you liked it 🙂
Hello There…thank you for the peep and follow 🙂 Young, thinking and writing, good going!
Belated Bday wishes- neither do i celebrate bdays. So have company there.
Thank you 🙂
Hi5 for the birthday thing!
I really like the way you think and the clarity of it. THough you mention that 3rd category is the worst of the lot, most of us would fall in that category only. We are human and falliable. We are weak creatures that need to justify our own actions in someway or the other. In our heads, when we feel that somewhere we are answerable to a higher power, subconsciously we dont want to take responsibility of our own actions.
Anyways it is an intense topic and there are no rights or wrongs here. But I enjoyed reading your post. All the best for your exams and Wishing you a brilliant New Year
Thank you…
wish you a great new year too 🙂
It’s not my own death that I fear. It’s the death of the loved ones that I can’t come to terms with. At least am not at the moment. Working on it still…
Try reading ‘Bhagavad Geeta’.. I am an atheist but I liked the Geeta’s philosophy. Read it as it is, you’ll get rid of your fears and all your doubts will melt away!
Easier said than done. I have read the Gita and other books on similar lines. I think there is a huge difference between knowing and understanding. Thats what I am trying to shorten at the moment… Hopefully soon 🙂 Thanks you though!
True… there’s a huge difference between just knowing and understanding something. Such arcane things are never understood completely…. but then that’s the fun in trying to understand them!
Spot on 🙂
Thanks Tracy 🙂 ..
I hope absence of fear makes your spooky encounters even more interesting for you 😀
Waiting for your novel eagerly!
Thank you for following my blog. I look forward to reading yours.
My pleasure Nancy !
Hello
A very belated happy birthday to you.. 🙂
And thanks much for the follow.
Very interesting topic. Can i pls say without a hint of shame that its not death that i fear but life instead? Not fear actually but anxious, more like.
For life is never certain, but death is.
My cure: living in the present and with gratitude.
Here’s hoping your day is a damn good one and an even better tomorrow!
hey.. thanks for sharing your honest thoughts…
Seems a lot of us are more afraid of life, rather than death. Uncertainty causes fear, true!
Before the moment of your birth, there was no You in the world, so to celebrate that day is not a bad thing. The people who know you and love you want to celebrate You, your existence, your unique being. Rejoice in that! Enjoy being You and celebrate the day You began!
Thanks for following my Posts!
Thanks for your words… will think about it next year 😀
My friends ask me to give a party on my birthday. But for some reason I don’t get the mood for a party on my ‘special day’. It just seems to me that its a day to be simply happy…nothing grand. I just turned 18 yesterday so my friends were shocked at my thoughts of not celebrating…
anyways.. about death, one should not fear it after a long and content life…but dying young is just sad ..which makes people fear death…not because they will have to face their deed. But because they didn’t do what they wanted to and hoped for.
-NamrataD
Attending birthday treats is always better than giving treats 😉
Coming back to the main point, if someone dies young, he is no more existent. He is nothing.
We were not excited about this life before our birth, why? , because we didn’t exist.
We won’t regret about things that we could have done or our past deeds once we die( at any age) , why? , because we won’t exist!
Yeah we will nothing to regret but then that is not a thought persistant in a human’s mind. After we don’t exist, we have nothing to regret. But before that? Why does anyone fear? Because it is hanging in the air that there are so many things i have to do…but i might die…that brings the fear! There is no fear too after that! fear is in life!
‘there are so many things i have to do…but i might die…’
how is someone’s death related to things that he has to do?
death is not..but fear of death is…to leave things incomplete i suppose.
I saw you were nominated already, but I would like to nominate you as well for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. You really do have some good stuff. Xx Scarlett
Thank you sooo much!
I’ll take it up later cause am quite busy these days!
Thanks again 🙂
I never celebrated mine. I never had a reason for that.
”There is no point in celebrating birthdays. If you think logically, you are approaching your death. You just lost another year from your life.” Interesting! I share this thought.
Hi5 for not celebrating birthdays 🙂 , though I have a different reason for not celebrating it!
You are celebrating another year you lost, closer to your death. Or you can see it as another year well spent (hopefully good things accomplished) and you made it to another milestone in your life, that many people do not get to see.
Will think about that!
Happy New Year, hopefully in the coming years you and your family be happier and be more successful.
Best wishes,
mei
happy new to you as well!
Well, I just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. I hope this will be a wonderful news for you. To see more about the award and this nomination, please visit my post at http://janalinesworldjourney.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/liebster-blog-…e-new-bloggers/
Congratulations and all the best to you!
Thank you soooo much 🙂 … am little busy these days… will take it up as soon as I get free!Thanx once again!
Because I find your blog so amazing I nominated you for an award. I would love to see you accept it 🙂 http://seefurtherblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/your-much-deserved-awards/
thank u soooo much 🙂 … will take it up soon!
No problem! I love these piece especially! 🙂
Interesting take! But I’d also say that as an atheist, one might fear death because although there’s nothing bad awaiting them after death, there’s also nothing good. There’s not that “eternal paradise” that those who believe in heaven await. And so the atheist feels that this life is all they have and that can be a scary thought 🙂
that may be scary for some people… for me. something eternal is the scariest thing, even though it is paradise 😀
really good to meet you! I’m going to enjoy getting to know you. I love India… where are you from… or is that breaching the ‘blog’ boundaries? Thanks for the follow…
thanks for following my blog 🙂 … I don’t leave in boundaries…It’s just that I don’t want to reveal too much details on blog… so I can only tell you that I am from somewhere in east India and currently studying in South India… what abt u?
I’m in sydney… I’ve been to south india… Mysore, and Bangalore… man, I got super sick from food I had there. WE had a fantastic meal in a very posh restaurant and bang the food poisoning was severe. I had to be hospitalised. Anyway, It’s good to connect… hope to get back there soon.
That’s sad… food poisoning ruins all the fun while travelling….. I have experienced it once…
I have been to Bangalore and Mysore… Bangalore takes only 4 hours from my university…
I was studying in Mysore. Cute little town… fortunately the food poisoning happened towards the end of my trip… although it meant I couldn’t end my trip in kerala as I had planned. The pollution in Bangalore is intense… but maybe you’re used to it
Mysore has a big Yoga school… did you study there?
lol… bangalore is considered quite clean compared to other metro cities… u probably haven’t been to the more polluted ones… Indians have adjusted to the pollution around…
Ashtanga yoga in Gokulum (spelling)… I rented my own house. Wow, that’s incredible about the pollution… I live right on the beach and I’m surrounded by a forrest… little to no pollution here. I guess you just get used to it…
That’s so cool…
I wake up quite early and jog outdoors to get the cleaner air…that’s how I deal with the pollution 🙂
check out one of my past posts I have a picture of where I live… you’ll love it! sorry can’t remember which post it was… and I’m about to loose my laptop to my kids.
I’m so glad you enjoyed my blog post! Thank you.
I’m sad that your birthdays weren’t celebrated and for the way your dad took away that joy for you as a child. I’m sorry that happened for you. I’ve always made a big deal of birthdays because I like to celebrate the person who was born! So here’s to YOU! A great reason to celebrate even if it’s almost 2 months after the fact.
Fearing death? Nope. I love Jesus with all my heart and can’t wait to be with him in person. But I can see how someone who doesn’t believe in God or know him could either fear death or not depending on what you believe about it. I don’t entertain thoughts of how I’ll die. I think you’re right that if you’ve suffered emotional pain you have endured the worst pain there is. Been there.
The interesting thing is that I found few more people whose birthdays were never celebrated during their childhood, and without any particular reason…
I feel quite good after that because my dad had a reason, however weird that was 😀 …
but am planning to celebrate it in the coming years…
Thanks a lot for commenting…
I think the fear of death is just instinctual. All animal lifeforms spirit. Got to preserve your life and keep the species going, I guess. That said, I also notice that I really like consciousness and I’m none too thrilled at the prospect of losing it.
I agree it is instinctual…. well, conscious and self aware people are less afraid of death, less afraid of anything in particular, as per my observation.
The comments of a sociologist mean a lot to me… Thank you so much for giving time on this 🙂
What I find most puzzling is that people fear death to the extent that they will not talk about it with their children, leaving it to be yet another job to add to the endless lists of tasks us teachers have to do instead of parents. I had a boy (10 yrs) in my class who feared death to the extent that he was reduced to tears at the mere mention of it which made reading Good night Mr Tom and study of WWII very difficult for him and us.
Having taken him out of the class and discussed his fears, anxieties and questions we then found a way through his quagmire of troubles. He put his belief in God at its centre and worked his way out from there including his family, friends into this new system. We then worked through his assumptions concerning his body, mind and self and explored his underlying beliefs. In so doing, he discovered that although his body may die there was a part of him that could not be killed and that (in his case) he believed that this ever living part of himself would exist in heaven.
After this discussion we resumed the study of WWII and Good night Mr Tom as our class reader with absolutely no further distress from my troubled friend.
Perhaps children should be encouraged to explore thoughts, beliefs and ideas about death not only from their own point of view (if they have one) but from the point of view of other cultures and traditions so that they can grow up more comfortable with the inevitable.
Thank you for the follow on my blog. You have some very interesting posts and I shall visit more often.
Welcome to my blog 🙂
Its good that he finally got over his fear. When I was very young, around 12 years, then my dad told me that fear is inevitable, and he may die anytime. I asked him if he had cancer or some deadly disease, but then he said it’s nothing like that. He just wanted me to accept the fact that death may come to anyone at anytime. Mom was terribly upset at our overly serious discussions, but then I see myself a lot mature compared to my age because of such countless discussions with dad during my childhood and teenage. Some of them sounded illogical and we even used to have arguments, but then it was through talks and discussions that today I have an opinion on almost everything that can affect my life!
Art and culture is to be appreciated, enjoyed, or if not then just left like that after experiencing. We have a bad habit of judging art and culture.
I love artists and I love your ear-ring in the gravatar 🙂
Your dad sounds amazing (even though you did mention that you were/are afraid of him.) :-).
That was exactly what this little boy was afraid of. He feared his parents would drop dead at any time. I suppose he was right as that fact (that we may die at any time) is a reality that humans tend to block out in some way or another so as to carry on living a ‘normal’ life.
However on certain spiritual paths an awareness and remembrance of death is actively encouraged as it helps the person become less attached to the short lived pleasures of this world.
Thank you for the reply and comment.
Your father sounds like a very harsh man, no wonder you fear him. I do not fear death as I had a near death experience at 18yrs and it changed me. It was bueatiful and I have never felt so loved. I have known fear and anger but I have left them behind me where they belong. Now i concentrate on love and reaching out to others in pain. sometimes the world can be a harsh and cruel place, step away from othose people make you feel bad and towards those people who uplift you. I am glad you have your writing to express yourself I know mine helped me.
Thanks for liking my post….
Thanks for liking my post….u write very well
Thanks and you’re welcome…
Your blog gives me vicarious travelling pleasures 🙂
Very interesting post, provoking a thought..
I also ignore my birthdays and I don’t fear death. Age, living trivia, death only exist in our perception, shaped by our attitude towards them.
You are right… perception shaped by our attitude changes the way we treat such matters.
Hi5 on ignoring birthdays… btw do u ignore Valentine’s day too?
Totally! 😀
To me Valentine is just an artificial made-up holiday 😉
I celebrate love everyday, anyway 🙂
I knew it… hi5 once again 😀
;)))
To each his own as to not interfere with another in a hurtful manner. I accept your viewpoints and thus have my own. I celebrate life and birth, after all a mother gave you life, whether you like it or not, whatever you do with it. Birthdays are gratitude that we have another one to celebrate. Else we are dead and back to the earth, no life, no breath, etc. We don’t have to know the karma, the religion, the reasons for life, just that it exists in all it’s beauty and ugliness or pain. Life is a beautiful thing and our own individual, chemical makeups make us unique, make one dad different from another. Be around people you like. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I write poems and do not pretend to know it all, but do have a few years and struggles too.
I’ll say I celebrate my life 364 days of the year, and it is on my birthday that I feel something weird. It’s not a miserable feeling, but something that confuses my head. I can’t share details unless I figure out the actual reason behind it.
Happy Valentine’s day to you too 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog and posting an honest comment!
Okay. If I can help, let me know. As long as you mostly like/love/celebrate life, well, you are entitled to some confusion or different feelings. That’s okay.
So, I guess Happy Birthday, is kind of an oxymoron? I’m not big on celebrating my birthday. However, I truly enjoy growing and learning. Which kind of go hand in hand with aging. So, overall, I don’t really mind. (Plus, time really only exists to us in our minds. It part of our human experience. Unless you know better.) Swinging by from Susie’s.
Yup, kind of oxymoron! The world sees me enjoying me, but deep inside I have a lingering pain.
The good news is that the intensity of this pain is decreasing with every year 🙂
That’s great news. To many more birthdays for you then!