I don’t know if it is me or that’s just the way it is, but I’ve been seeing a lot of death themes on TV and movies lately. I’ve seen my share of death over my years and have written about it before. It seems that it is time to give my most current views because they seem to change with age.
I’m 55 this year. Technically, not old in these modern times. In the early days, people seldom lived to be older than 35 so, hmmm.
When we are young, we have an intense fear of dying, since our whole life is still ahead of us. I was 9 when my father died of heart disease, and I spent the next many years worrying that my mom would die soon, and I would be all alone. That’s to be expected. And who knows?
But what do I think about death now that I’m 55? I think that I may have up to 20 good years left. That’s not a lot. When I think about living those 20 years sitting all alone in my house every day, it seems like a lot. Time is relative, they say.
I have a friend who has Stage 4 prostate cancer. The doctor said he would be dead two years ago. He’s still doing well enough, so who knows. Health is a crap-shoot.
What does it even mean to live? Does it even really matter? My mom passed away recently, and I seem to be the only person who cares. All she did for 92 years meant nothing to everyone except me. When I’m gone, then what?
Famous people die every day. People who did great things for science and humanity. The next day, people just go on with their lives like they never existed. They’re just a rock in a field now. Time keeps ticking. I’m an invisible nobody. What chance do I have of being remembered or even mourned for a minute?
What if I found out that I had inoperable cancer and had only a few weeks to live? What would I think? Hard to say until it really happens, but I’m not sure that I would be overly upset. I’ve achieved all my reachable goals in life. I’m rich, early-retired and living in my 80% Dream House. I have few realistic desires and no achievable major goals left. I’d like to have a good friend, but that’s not realistic.
I guess I would do my best to try to spend some of my money on stupid stuff and experiences. I should probably do that anyway, but that kid of thing is hard for me. It would be a shame to die with a big bank account. I don’t have anyone to leave it to. I need to find some charity that would be worthy of being in my will. But money isn’t everything. A big bank account isn’t so bad. It DOES offer a really nice feeling of comfort. That is perhaps worth way more than an abandoned house full of crap like the videos on YouTube. Money is like a gun. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
At this point, I would consider death to be Sweet Relief. A good friend who comes to take away the emptiness. I’m not in a hurry, though. I could go another 20 years because you only get to go on this ride once. There will be plenty of time to be dead later. If I make it to age 80, I do request that Death come for me quickly if I am suffering in any way. I don’t want to live in assisted living or anything like that. Once I am unable to support my own living, I intend to make sure that the end comes in a timely manner.
I no longer live in fear of death. I just hope that everything I’ve achieved in life, isn’t completely wasted. Unfortunately, it will be. That’s just the way it is for us unloved folk.
My plan for after I die was to just let the government do whatever they do with unclaimed bodies. Probably cremation with no memorial or marker of any kind to prove that I existed.
Now, I’m thinking that I might get myself a cemetery plot somewhere popular with a huge headstone, so I’ll leave at least something behind for a while. Maybe it will have an inset, solar-powered video screen that will play a slideshow of my life when you press a button. Random strangers might see it and at least wonder about me for a few seconds before moving on. That’s better than nothing. That’s better than I have now. I think that will be my plan.