About Death

What makes death a "problem"? When viewed with a cool head, death is a natural process. It has been going on for tens of millions of years in various kinds of life, and it is certain that it will continue, until the unpredictable time. As Steve Jobs stated in a speech at Stanford University, death opens opportunities for the new to flourish, and the old to leave. Death ensures that the wheels of the world keep turning and that the world is renewed by new faces that did not exist before.

Death as a "Problem"

So, what makes death such a "problem"? When a family member dies, the person automatically loses his cold head. Emotion, sadness, and fear stabbed his soul. The power of analysis and reasoning immediately dimmed.

Death's ability to destroy reason and arouse fear is immense. The immediate ambush of death. It is unpredictable. It destroys the harmony in the family and in the relationships between people, which all their power has worked out before. This is the reason why death is such a "problem".

Death also creates fear. However, if examined more deeply, what is scary is not death, but death, namely the process of leading to death. People, by their very nature, are not afraid of death. However, everyone, even religious believers who yearn for heaven, does not want to go through the "death" process to death. This process is often tragic, such as bloody accidents, torturous diseases, and so on.

Death can be a problem because it can break up families. The death of one person can give birth to war, much like the one that sparked the first world war at the beginning of the last century. The opposite effect is also true, that death can also unite the family. Previously unfamiliar people became close, experiencing the same sadness and loss. The similarity of fate and sorrow transcends all differences, then binds people who were previously enemies.

For the families left behind, death leaves a deep wound in the heart. The word "heartbreak" here acts not only as a painting but is almost closer to reality. The wounds arising from death truly broke the hearts of those who were left behind. In some extreme instances, the death of one person can lead to the death of another, precisely because of the heartbreak he felt.

In my country, death is often a business field. In a sad situation, it is difficult for people to think clearly. As a result, he then becomes complacent and is easily deceived by money-scoopers. The price of food is doubled, when the bereaved family wants to hold a prayer together. Everything became more expensive, and the bereaved family had neither the energy nor the common sense to refuse. The death of one person can also mean the economic death of a family.

In the area where I live, death becomes a social event, a collective event. The mourning family has almost no choice what to do. All of them have traditions and procedures that must be followed, to meet social demands. Maybe, the intention behind it was good. However, the process that must be carried out is very oppressive, because the family must comply with existing social norms which are often tiring and costly, even though he is grieving a lot.

Life after Death

One of the important questions in human life is, what happens after death? This is a very important question. No scientific method can answer that. We need an approach that moves from religion to myth to science to provide several possible answers.

In various world civilizations, we can easily find the concept of life after death. The versions vary, but the patterns are more or less similar. After death, people will enter the next realm. There, if he lives a good life, he will find happiness. If his life is evil, then he will have to serve the punishment. This is a fairly universal pattern that can be found in mythological stories in almost all world civilizations.

This view was then continued by world religions with the concept of heaven and hell. Good people will go to heaven and find eternal happiness there. Meanwhile, bad people will go to hell and experience severe punishment there. There is also a kind of immortal entity (God, Dewa) who acts as a judge for each person after he dies.

In death, there is an idea of ​​justice. Life isn't fair. However, death will correct that fact. We cannot prove whether this opinion is true, or just a story. However, there is something beautiful about the idea that death is always linked to the idea of ​​justice.

From the point of view of modern science, which uses scientific thinking methods based on data that can be seen and measured, it is difficult for us to talk about death. The only argument which in this view makes the most sense is that life is energy, and energy is eternal. He just changed places. So, after a person dies, his energy will return to nature and become something else.

There is no world after death. What is there is emptiness, because energy is transferred to something else. However, like all views in science, this view too is only a possibility, because science can never provide truth or certainty, but the only possibility. Life after death is a possibility, although, from a scientific point of view, the probability is quite low.

The Meaning of Death

Based on these various views, we cannot be sure what happens after death. All views can only act as possibilities, but not the truth. We can just say, means we have to believe, and that is the essence of faith. However, I thought, how can we believe in something possible, or that is not certain.

I think, we need to shift the question, no longer "is their life after death", but, "how do we interpret death itself, our death, and the death of the people we love." The question of "the meaning of events" is the most important in human life, especially when he is facing a deadly event that hurts him.

There is no absolute formula for answering this question. Each person should try to personally assign meaning to death, both his death and the death of his loved ones. Meanings must be created and developed over time. It is not something that is fixed and stable, but dynamic and needs to be reinterpreted in line with the development of times and events.

I see the deaths of my loved ones as a turning point. Death changes circumstances and changes the human soul itself. Changing points are then interpreted as possibilities and opportunities, to determine a new direction, including the direction and way in which we live our lives. These turning points both surprises and opens up previously hidden opportunities.

I see death as the goal of life (Sein zum Tod), as I interpret Martin Heidegger thinking. However, it is not just any death, but death with dignity (würdevoller Tod). That is death as a sacrifice for others. Die for someone else. Nothing is more perfect than this.