Love it or Lose

"He who pretends to look on death without fear lies. All men are afraid of dying, this is the great law of sentient beings, without which the entire human species would soon be destroyed."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) Julie, or The New Eloise

(Enright, 22)

      The first quotation in this chapter of Enright's The Oxford Book of Death ironically impacted me more than just about every other. This statement is just so unbelievably true. If humans did not fear death, we would have no hesitation in killing ourselves at any given moment. Thus, our species would quickly become extinct. It is the very fear itself which protects the survival of mankind. As much as many of us have come to despise the idea of dying, the thought keeps us alive in a sense. We will do just about anything to keep our bodies functional, at least i know i certainly would.

"When I think that my body will be put into a coffin, that the lid of the coffin will be screwed down and i will be buried under earth, I am horrified."

Alexander Sergeyevich Buturlin, 1915

(Enright, 26)

      I myself have been tormented by this same thought that horrified Buterlin. The irreversible manner of the whole thing absolute freaks me out. Even thinking about it now, I am getting anxious. The fact is the whole idea scares me to death (no pun intended). To be underneath the ground, becoming sustenance for worms and insects seems like a rather harsh end to it all. Spending an eternity six feet under does not appeal to me. And so, I have long thought about being cremated. After much consideration, I have decided that too is not for me. I mean is having your body burnt to a crisp truly a better alternative? I realize I will not be alive to experience either event, but thinking about it now petrifies me.

"For every person who is half-hearted about their work or relationships, there is someone else who loves what they're half hearted about."

                                                            (Porras, Emery, Thompson, 35)

     "Love it or Lose"; chapter two begins with this title. Although there is always talk about the importance of loving what you do, most people simply don't see this as a possibility, but more of an unaffordable luxury that is far out of their reach. This view needs to be changed. If people are not choosing the job which truly peaks their interest, they are not performing at their maximum capability. It is imperative that you are having fun in your profession, and not just a performing robot. Their is something called "the flow experience". Immersed in this "flow", you become unaware of time and what's around you, completely engrossed into the task at hand. This, is what everyone should strive for when seeking the perfect career.

"We spend our health building our wealth, then we desperately spend our wealth to hang onto our remaining health."

Robert T. Kiyosaki (Porras, Emery, Thompson, 38)

       Before reading Kiyosaki's opinion, i had never thought about this; however, it completely makes sense. We all at one point or another are somehow sacrificing our quality of life in order to hopefully build a better future. The problem is, while aspiring for an exceptional tomorrow, we are not appreciating what we have today! Learning to live in the moment and not take life for granted is something many of us need to do. This is a problem for me, I'm constantly reminiscing on the past and hoping for the future to be better than right now. While making some goals for the future is certainly important, I should be concentrating on the here and now. When Kiyosaki states that we "spend our wealth to hang onto our remaining health," he means that the hard work that we put into building our futures takes a toll on our well being. Once we have achieved wealth, we end up having to spend it in order to keep ourselves healthy.

"Let your eye go to the sun; your life to the wind; by the meritorious acts that you have done, go to heaven, and then [for rebirth] to the earth again; or, resort to the waters, if you feel at home there; remain in the herbs with the bodies you propose to take."

                                                                          A Vedic Mantra, (Kramer, 39)

      Hindu's have a deeply compelling stance on death. Their culture believes that the outer body, including the skin, bones, muscles, nervous system, and brain, falls away (Kramer, 37). The "Subtle Body Sheath", which consists of "karmic" tendencies like knowledge, breath, and mind, which coats the "jiva", or psychic sub stratum, begins to fall away. Following death, at first the jiva stays near or in the body, before detaching itself and entering a reality conditioned by its earthly life-cravings (Kramer, 37). Eventually, the jiva enters a state of bliss until it takes on a new body and experiences a rebirth. Personally, i hope this is the case. I could not imagine never being able to live again prior to death. Maybe living forever is not the most desirable fate, but surely being given a second chance at life would be a wonderful thing.                       

Works Cited

Enright, D.J. The Oxford Book of Death. Oxford [Oxfordshire: Oxford UP, 1983. Print.

Kramer, Kenneth Paul. The Sacred Art of Dying.: How World Religions Understand Death. NewYork,  NY [u.a.: Paulist Pr., 1988. Print.

Porras, Jerry L. Stewart, Emery and Mark Thompson. Success Built to Last: Creating a LifeThat            Matters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Pub., 2007. Print.