Our Death-defying Mythology
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Let’s face it; once you’ve hit your seventies, there’s little time left. Think back and remember how fast the last twenty years sailed by and realize that twenty more will pass even quicker leaving you either dead or dying.
We humans are a funny species. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we pretend that death is a far-off event primarily fated for others. We constantly live in denial, continuing to pretend that we will somehow live forever.
Even when we do kind of, sort of face death, many of us still avoid reality and instead conjure up a mystical mysterious afterlife filled with never-ending joy and serenity. Based on some personal incident that was likely just a misfired synapse in our brain, some claim to have achieved a unique revelation of an ill-defined great beyond that sadly only exists in our imagination.
Our death-denial leads us also to pretend that aging is wonderful, that it is a continuing series of joyful events. A quick scan of your body can easily convince you otherwise as each passing year brings some new disease, deficit or disability.
“Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering — and it’s all over much too soon.”
