The #weekend-engagement initiative is always a good idea for weekend posts. In its 123th entry, we find The Deep Thought Weekend. One of the questions suggest for it is:
Is there something worse than dying? What is it and why do you feel it is worse? Explain your answer.
Having consciousness is an interesting thing. It gives us the notion of passing time. It also makes us understand how our existence in this world is a limited thing. A kind of one time deal.
Where's tbe complaint department? I need to talk to someone.
Are there really thing worse than death?
If we explore human culture, we will find the ideas the circle the concept of death. There are two big archetypes in this category. We have glorious death and natural death. In some cultures, the second plays a role of shame. It is the realm of the Greek God Thanatos and the Norse God Hella.
They represent those who die from diseases and other natural causes. Way back when Christianism wasn't even a thing, the idea of death was something romantic. The fact that monuments to death like the Pyramids of Egypt exist is a testament to that.
But this is all about death. What about not dying?
Please, let me go!
This week, I had the chance to reflect upon some of my greatest fears. Dying is an intrinsic human fear. But there are thing scarier than that.
And I've seen them more than once.
First, being dependant of anything. Addiction to substances are in category as well. Something that alters the chemestry of our brains is a thing to fear. Imagine not being able to stop consuming it. It gets worse when you understand that some of these things are medicine as well.
Being dependant of other people. It might be for diseases or just for being too old to do thing by yourself. This is the kind of situation I'd compare to certain punishmens taken out of mythology.
Remember Prometheus and the vulture and Sisyphus and the rock? The former was chained to a mountain. A vulture would come each day and eat his liver. It would regenerate. And it kept happening. The second, tricked the gods so much and cheated on people that he was punished to do a repetitive task for all eternity, to push a rock uphill and watch roll down to start over.
Those situations entail the repetition of some things in a cycle. A neverebding cycle.
Could you picture yourself being dependant? Maybe our pride wouldn't let us. And this makes me remember a phrase very common among old people around here. They said they'd rather die than lost their independence.
Is there something worse than that?
Sure. I remember my other fear. It's that idea of slowly losing yourself in your mind. There's a lot for that present nowadays. And how wouldn't it be possible? Just look at the amount of information thrown at us daily.
People crack down and there's not turning back from that broken state. Not even a little of help to collect the pieces.
But there's more...
Oh, yes. There are things worse than that.
Imagine the job you hate, the partner you don't like, nothing of fulfilling to do. Imagine this is your life. The dullness of how things develop. The lack of colour in your days. Would you rather keep going or would you beg the gods to take you?
Final note
These are only my ideas about thing which I consider worse than death. It explains a lot about my way of thinking and how I see a worthwhile life.
Our notion on these topics are shaped by experience and background. To some, maybe the idea of being dependant isn't too bad. For people like me, not being able to do things on our own represents the end of our very selves.
I'd to give you a post about these ideas of being dependant and losing your mind. I explored that topic here of you're interested. It is a different kind of post.
Again, thanks a lot to the G-dog for these amazing questions which make the idea of writing a post easier.
Credits
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