Death is Not the End - Margaret Coberly

Since the quality of life for a dying person can be positively influenced by open and honest interactions, it is imperative that all of us—professional and lay people alike—begin to dismantle the conspiracy of silence that has enshrouded death for so long, and work to transform our fear and denial into knowledge and acceptance.

One powerful way to begin understanding death is to consciously reflect on it. Just sit quietly and think about death for a minute. It’s not easy! Having denied it for so long, we can’t help but find it difficult to imagine death at all. What does death look like?

One important and obvious realization that can come to light when thinking about death is that death is inevitable. The time death will come is uncertain, but that it will arrive is irrefutable. Everything and everyone now alive will one day be dead. This recognition—that death cannot be overcome—strikes a fatal blow to the myth of certainty. Contemplating the prospect of death brings immediacy to the present moment, and suddenly a very different reality can unfold.

© "Times of India", dated July 31, 2005.

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