I thought today - All Souls Day, part of the Day of the Dead celebration - would be the perfect time to write this blog topic. More on why in a bit.
I do not hide my interest in the macabre - it's pretty clear in my choice of career aspirations, the things I wear, my apartment decor, and the interests I have. And yes, sometimes the odd things I say, which I'm sure my dear husband can attest to. While some may write me off as being weird or perhaps unloved as child, I enjoy when someone gives me a chance to explain. I'm really not that strange, when you consider you have a skull sitting right inside your head, and you, as well as I, and everyone on Earth, will die someday. Sorry to spoil the surprise.
I, and many others with similar interests, like to call myself "death positive". It does not mean we revel in the death of others or long for our own demise. It means, to me, simply that I accept death is a part of life, and instead of fearing it, I make it a goal to strive for what some would call, "a good death". (I give credit to hearing this term to Caitlin Doughty, founder of the Order of the Good Death.) Basically, to me having a "good death" would be when I am very old, after living a fulfilling life, passing peacefully at home whilst surrounded by loved ones, assured of what will happen to my body and my earthly possessions once I am gone. While we generally cannot chose when we will die, we can ensure as close to a "good death" as possible by living life to the fullest, so to speak - which I personally also include living a healthy lifestyle - and in more practical terms, having prepared the after-life necessities such as: what will happen to our bodies, what kind of funeral you'd like, if any, and to whom your earthly possessions should pass.
As a student of biology and psychology, death through these lenses also intrigues me. Learning about how complex life is, from the smallest unicellular organism, to the tallest, oldest trees in the forest, life on Earth is such a brilliant machine, constantly operating at every level even if we cannot see it. And the thing about life that is so fascinating to me, is that when it ends, as an organism dies, it becomes, literally, the fuel for more life to continue. Whether it is fed on by another creature or decays quietly into the ground, every bit of it is "recycled" back into new life (except in the case of embalming, which is another gripe for another day). And this has been going on and will continue long before and after humans. Which brings me to psychology - humans are, to our current knowledge, the only organisms that are consciously aware that we will die. The ways in which people deal (or not deal) with this information is so interesting to me. There are cultures that view death as moving on to an after-life in paradise, some who view it as an honor to die in some cases, and cultures where death is viewed as something evil such that they burn the hut of the deceased and all of his possessions within.
So what does this have to do with this blog, or my career? Well, because life is so very complex, it is also so very fragile, leading to a number of abnormalities and diseases and disorders that can disrupt it. I think studying these leads me to understand again how fragile this life is, and inspires me to live better and encourage others to do the same because of that. Not so creepy after all, is it?
One of my hopes for this blog and my life is to inspire others to see death as not so taboo or morbid as well. Which is not to say it isn't sad when a loved one passes. I just don't believe we should be in such denial that we do things like take extreme measures to lengthen one's life with medicine or machines, or once a person is no longer living, fill them with chemicals to stop the decay then seal them in an air tight box enclosed in a cement casing underground. Instead, on this day especially, take a moment to appreciate the relationship the Mexican culture has with the dead, taking a few days to celebrate the life of their loved ones with food and treats and music and joy.
Anyways, though this is a just a summary of my thoughts on death, hopefully that explains some things about me for you. And if it doesn't, I'd be happy to chat about it.
After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
- Albus Dumbledore
Learn more about the Day of the Dead celebration here: Dia los Muertos - A Primer
No comments:
Post a Comment