The Mystery Of Death

If it was possible, would you want to know the exact date of your death? When attempting to answer this question, I realized how blissful a state of ignorance can be. The question exemplifies how mankind’s obsessive pursuit of wanting to know “everything” may have drawbacks.

I personally would not want to know when I will die. I find the true beauty in life to lie within its spontaneity. Waking up each day not knowing what the next minute will offer is something that everyone takes for granted. Imagine if the mystery of one’s future was no longer so elusive. If we knew we had exactly thirty years and twelve days to live. If we had a mental countdown as we sought to use each day to live life to the fullest. This is complete nonsense. Time doesn’t change just because you know you will die in fifty years. The only difference, I think, is that man seems to appreciate the “simple things” when they are reminded of their mortality. This is where I’m a hypocrite. I rather not know the full extent of my timeline. I’m far more comfortable clinging onto my preconceived notions about my future. Just because I want to be a doctor, a father, and distinguished member of society doesn’t mean that death will conveniently wait for me to accomplish the aforementioned before it knocks on my door. Life is too short to think we have time to do everything we want; however, there’s  a profound sense of relief in telling ourselves that. Laziness consumes us. We no longer value the significance of the moment. We fear death but drown ourselves in enough distractions to remain oblivious. I am guilty of this cowardice.

Yes, I will acknowledge there are those out there who would want to know how much time they have left. My only comment is that of those individuals, only a handful are genuine on this stance. No matter how noble your cause may be (ie, I want to know how long I have to work with so I can decide how to raise a family and accomplish my goals), there’s nothing stopping you from carrying out the same tasks you would have done. In other words, knowing one’s lifespan does not affect their daily actions as long as they follow one excessively used but rarely understood premise – “live life to the fullest.”

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