Death brings an appreciation of Life

A Daoist view of the world perceives the origin of heaven and earth; being and non-being, produce each other. We cannot have good without evil; nor light without darkness. One extreme forms the other. This premise is one of the essences of Daoism; the need for balance where opposites not only produce, but balance each other.

Zen asks that we put all our accepted views of our world aside and find enlightenment by unlearning all pre-conceived notions of life and reality.

The competitive individualistic nature of Western society has its focus on individual rights and freedoms. It promotes people’s desire to walk a different path. It is the engine that drives our need to accumulate individual wealth and material possessions, which in turn leads us to a focus on individual achievement. We ask ourselves; “What have we made of our lives?”, “What have we achieved?”

We emphasise the need to make the most of every moment, not to waste a single minute of this short time we have on earth. Our yard stick is too often the achievement of others. We listen and nod when told that the race is only every against ourselves, but the very fact that we use the language of competition and compare life to a “race” belies our need for individual achievement.

Rarely do we set the goal as being a good citizen, having empathy and showing care and compassion. Being good parents by nurturing and growing well balanced, caring, empathetic adults which we unleash on the world to spread their love and compassion for their fellow Humans.

We have a tendency to see the world as a series of dichotomies. One of the most common being good and bad. Too often we ask; “But is it good to react like this?” “Is it bad that I think like that?” Rarely, do we ever accept that a lot of our life just “is”; that is to say, it is neither good nor bad, it just “is”!

We also classify what we perceive as opposites; life and death; as good and bad. The bringing of life is such a joyous thing, all the words and images evoke happiness. The very image of death, being the Grim Reaper, says it all.

For some their belief system is that life is full of suffering, and that death is a relief of that suffering. The incentive is too do as much good in this life as possible to escape future suffering. For others their belief system would have them follow the way of their God and in doing so find eternal life after death in paradise; Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla.

Our individualistic western approach has spawned a quest for immortality. Scientists search for the essence of life so that they can sustain life. Some people have chosen to be frozen in the hope that one day they can be brought back to this existence. For centuries people have sought the elixir of life.

We see the fear of aging drive and entire market of elixirs, remedies, injections, and potions that will slow, and some claim halt the march of time. Many keep themselves fit and follow the healthiest diets to ward off possible life threatening conditions that age might bring.

For a vast majority we cannot leave life to chance. We cannot accept that life and death just “are” what they are; neither good nor bad. We feel we must have and exercise some level of control, from diet and exercise, to pills, potions and surgical interventions. We must exercise what control we have on the inevitable outcome we tend to fear and dread.

We are driven by the fact that we have no awareness whatsoever of what lies in death. Is it a nothingness, or is there a spiritual world we ascend, or descend into?

We express sorrow and remorse for those who die early in years, and comfort ourselves by saying; “only the good die young”. Which leaves little incentive to “be good”! We praise and admire longevity as a major achievement to attain.

I understand too acutely the sorrow of loss. The finality of never sharing a smile, or a moment, a conversation with a loved one ever again. Such loss brings with it an appreciation of what that individual brought to your world, and how they contributed to creating the world and life that you see as yours. How they shared with you a happiness in being that enhanced and enlightened your being.

But without death, would we not hold life to be so precious? Is it not death that sparks the appreciation of life and drives the need to make the most of our “short” time on Earth? Is it not, “the uncompromising touch of death that can put a keener edge on our appreciation of life” (Andrew Juniper, author of “Wabi-Sabi – The Japanese Art of Impermanence”)?

Immortality would rob us of the urgency to best use our time on Earth. It would rob us of the rich philosophical thinking of religious prophets and spiritual guides that have enhanced our lives and raised our consciousness. It may well rob us of what little understanding we have of life’s purpose and meaning. We may well lose our raison d’etre.

It is the inescapable inevitability of death that feeds our love of all things beautiful. We have a sense that beauty is fleeting, but we know that quite often it is capture for an eternity within this Earth. Our love for beauty is fed by our knowledge that we will not be here to always experience such beauty, and that it is not beauty that is fleeting, but our lives and our experience with beauty. It is the fleetingness of our encounters that create the precious moments of our lives. Immortality can hold no such promises.

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“It is the uncompromising touch of death that can put a keener edge on our appreciation of life”

-        Andrew Juniper (Author)