Footsteps in the dark...

[wlotus]

At what point do I stop feeling vaguely haunted by thoughts of my own mortality? (And before anyone says so, I did not feel any less haunted as an evangelical Christian, so going back to my spiritual roots isn't the answer.)

Comments

[ruthiebgr8.livejournal.com]

I'm not feeling vaguely haunted lately. I feel like someone is screaming about it in my ear! Mostly I have tried to get everything I can done to take care of things once I pass and then I just live each day as though it's my last and enjoy myself. But it does make it difficult to get real serious about taking care of myself when all I can hear/see is my mortality. When I say something about it though my daughter gives me a tongue-lashing. (Just see my blog if you want to see what I mean.)

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

Thoughts of my mortality haven't (yet) made it difficult for me to take care of myself. It makes me worry what it's like to die, what happens when I die, and most of all, how in the world I will cope with losing close loved ones to death. When I look at the people close to me, I can almost see them lying in a casket, and I feel their absence in advance.

On a more positive note, it inspires me to appreciate each moment with them. But I still feel haunted by those thoughts.

[labellerose.livejournal.com]

I think the short answer is maybe you don't. If you can look on death without a belief in its' horror, you can look on life without a belief in its preciousness.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting point of view. I'll have to ponder that thought. Thank you.

[beautyofgrey.livejournal.com]

I'm not certain where you're haunted...but I generally comfort myself by thinking about how our bodies return to earth, to nourish the earth, and future generations - our planet and its creatures came from the stars, and we pretty much return to such. It's reincarnation at its purest, so to speak.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I explain my haunting a bit, here:

http://wlotus.livejournal.com/1256909.html?thread=5662413#t5662413

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

I clicked the link to go back for reference, and it connects back to this post. . .

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

It should point to a comment I made up above.

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

Ah, my mistake. Thanks for the clarification.

[queen-in-autumn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that one ever stops being haunted by it.

Death is one of the great, unsolvable mysteries of existence. We can ignore it or be in denial about it or achieve some kind of peace regarding it (usually cycling through these states), but it never goes away.

My work as an underworld priestess has made a huge difference in how I perceive death, especially since I now have Personal Unverified Gnosis that yes, we do continue to exist after physical death -- but even that doesn't address the issues of separation from those I will leave behind here or those who depart before me, or the need to make sure my affairs are in order for Wolfling, or fearing a particularly ugly death.

[i-evangeline.livejournal.com]

I sort of think it's good to have our mortality in our minds. The haunting thing is a bit much. That's not nice and I've been there before. But to realize that we have to do stuff now or we may not get the chance to do it, well, it makes some problems seem smaller, some fights seem less bitter, some days seem a little more productive. Not that I'm able to keep this frame of mind when I stub my toe or something of course, but well, it's something I aspire to I guess.

Sara

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

you feel only vaguely haunted? I envy you!

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

Well now, that puts my situation in perspective. :-)