Mar 16, 2021
Death is a Blessing.
And perhaps one of the things we should be grateful for the most.
Some think that it’s meaningless to live their lives if they will be dead anyway. But I think it’s the other way around.
As Viktor Frankl put it, “The Latin word finis has two meanings: the end or the finish, and a goal to reach. A man who could not see the end of his provisional existence was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life.”
Death’s inevitability implies the finiteness of our existence, which in fact gives a goal, a meaning to life.
It’s as if we’re reading a story: all the trivial details are, sure, enjoyable on their own, but the ultimate goal is to reach the climax, the end of the story. Without a climax or an end, one might find it meaningless to read such a story.
Of course, we don’t read a book just for the sake of the climax itself. We hate finishing a book; some people might keep themselves away from reading stories, for finishing it means feeling empty afterwards. But we cannot escape this life, this story of ours, and the only way to go is to embrace it; we are forced to read the story.
Thus, it’s not that we want death, but such an end gives meaning to the journey towards it, especially if we are required to go through it. And this is important, as life isn’t only about asking what we expect from it, but also what life expects from us. We have such responsibility, and embracing the journey towards its meaningful end — death — drives us through, allowing us to fulfil those responsibilities as we go.
And it’s not just the death itself: the uncertainty of when we will face death is a blessing, too.
We know that the climax or the end is what we strive for. Therefore the way that anytime can be the end of our lives means anytime can be the time we have always been looking forward to. We wouldn’t waste our time doing inessential things as we want our death to be as glorious as possible.
On the other hand, this also implies that no matter how sinned one is, it can be thought or interpreted as if one’s life is still a long way ahead, as if infinity due to its uncertainty, such that it is never late to repent.
And even if one can sense death, as many people do within the last seconds of that of theirs, it is, too, a blessing as it gives one the last chance to climb their climax with the most dignity and glory one could ever achieve. It no longer matters who one was or had been; it is who one is, at that minute climax, that defines one’s self and their entire life.
Everyone hated Severus Snape almost the whole seven books of Harry Potter, until we faced his death in the last chapters of the last book, uncovering all of his dedication and sacrifice for the protagonist; Snape suddenly became one of the noblest characters we have ever met, after his death.
As there would be no light without darkness, there is no life without death. What does it mean to live, if there isn’t ‘not-living’?
And in the end, as Albus Dumbledore once said,
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
