I never walked on your grave again
but I memorized with precision
all things as I left them
Contemplating decomposition makes you less afraid of your own death. For spiritualists, there is Maranasati, a Buddhist meditative practice that reinforces the act of remembering death at all times, with constant practice so as not to be negligent, and the reason for putting oneself in this morbid and even somewhat frightening state for many people is to reduce the fear of death and encourage a life with urgency and purpose, that is, as one of the principles of Buddhism, to remember impermanence. How everything comes and goes. The decomposition of everything that exists. Or rather, its transitory state. I think the main reason we have so much agony in talking about death is because our consciousness tries to preserve itself, never imagining itself as a body. Or in this case, a possible corpse. People enter and exit wars using the principle of dehumanization as a facilitator for war; it's easier to kill multiple enemies if you turn them into creatures, something that isn't you. You are human, therefore they are not. So, like an insect, an enemy becomes an easy target for hatred, violence, and eventual death. Nothing is felt when observing their lifeless body. However, it's common to see in media representations or even real life the shock of reality when a person accustomed to dishonoring creatures with the premise of their insignificance because they are not human in their eyes, faces death alone. Or the possibility of never waking up again. You can see it in the terror of their voice, in their bulging eyes, in their cries for comfort in their parents' arms. That they never considered or allowed themselves to be considered liable to this. The despair is pitiful. Even if you, as an observer, try to dehumanize them as some kind of poetic justice or revenge for what they did. - Now, removing morality from the context, the absurd surprise at their own mortality. So, how could looking at decomposing bodies possibly be helpful? Eventually, you'd feel sad, right? Goths could probably say something about that, but no. That's not the point of meditation; death itself isn't cruel, but the way you arrive at it, the tragic end of a story, especially one so loved or fought for, is what measures the cruelty of the context. The purpose here is to see yourself again as a living being, so you can live without fear of something that will happen regardless of what you do. It's about learning to fight for yourself, even when life is a mess for you, to take drastic measures and realize that since we're all in this together, some people are still trampling over everything. That wanting to live, beyond being beautiful and cute and all that toxic positivity, is brutal. It's about a war you fight to the end to have your place in the world, focusing on what matters most to you, but only to you and no one else. Whether using religion, philosophy, or your own critical thinking, it's crucial that you get out of autopilot mode, step out of production mode for just a few seconds, and look directly into those lifeless eyes in the mirror, and recognize them as the ones destined for the ground.
