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So I've been having a series of panic/anxiety attacks recently, mostly focused on the fact that I am quickly growing older and that shortly, before I even think about it I will die. Obviously this is a whole bunch of fun, but it's something we all have to face/deal with.

How do you face your mortality?

Its the transition that scares everybody

Chocolate ice cream mostly.

Yeah it's scary but I get mad more than im scared.

My problem is I'll be deployed to Afghanistan within next year. I could possibly gotten HIV from that fething skank that gave me the clap. I have a bunch of reason to be afraid. But there's one thing I'm not gonna fething do and that's beg to god when I die. I ain't gonna fething beg. Even if I get to heaven and all I have to do is beg to get in I'm not going to do it. I'll tell god to go feth himself.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

How do you face your mortality?

With cold detachement. The state of death is not a problem, but dying is. Considering it's inevitable, I want the most interesting death possible. I'm more scared about dying a pathetic death than actually being dead.

Of course, I'd like to accumulate the most interesting experiences possible before that happens.

If you focus on not being pathetic when you die I assure you you won't be.

I'm not so much worried about my own death, it's the death of my family and dogs that scare me.

My granny had a brain tumour; they cut it out and she survived. Both knees had ground away all the cartilage and she now has two fake ones. Now she's having heart failure and might get a pace maker. If I get to her age, I plan to hold as long as I can as well. Endure to the very end.

I won't have to, Thanks to denial, I'll live forever.



Death is just one of those things that you can't control, so there's no point in getting worked up over it. I used to stress out about it when I was in middle school, until my dad had a talk with me.

He said, "Iur, You're going to waste your whole life worrying over nothing if you stress out about things out of your control. Someone could drive a car into our house right now and kill us, but there's nothing we can do about that. It's best to just enjoy life."

And the past 9-10 years after that, when I just accepted the fact that I could die at any time, for no good reason, have been more or less pretty great. I don't worry about what I can't control, and I do what I love. I eat relatively healthy and do some light exercise when I remember, make sure I follow all the traffic rules when I'm driving (well that's more of a "I don't want my insurance rates to go up" than a "I don't want to die In a car wreck" ).


Just enjoy the time you have with good friends.

The death of family and friends is worse than dying yourself. Especially when one of your friends who used to ride bikes with you and play video games and run is now on a hospital bed. I'd see him in the hallways at school in his wheelchair being pushed around by his mother who whenever she smiled you could always tell was fake.

The fethed up part about it was that poor bastard tried to fit in. Skater shoes dyed hair. Jesus fething Christ imagine being that kids mother changing him everyday for school. He used to run jump and laugh now he was so full of convulsions that he can't even speak right.

I ask myself what someone could've done to deserve that. What someone could have possibly done in a previous lifetime to deserve such a horrible fate. God. Yeah right.

I guess god was there when my moms boyfriend jumped off a cliff in front of my mom and brother. God. Yeah right.

Jihadin wrote:Its the transition that scares everybody

No matter what station you hold in life and what you do with it, we're all heading to the same place.

Ma55ter_fett wrote:Chocolate ice cream mostly.

I can get behind this plan.

Kovnik, what to you is the state of death? Is there a point to carrying all those experiences with you beyond being able to die with a life well lived?


More in general, what is a life well lived any way?

It is the natural consequence of birth. I don't worry about it at all. How I face it in the end will depend on the situation I find myself in at that moment.


*typo edit

When you think you're going to die you'll realize what "life well lived" means.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

Kovnik, what to you is the state of death? Is there a point to carrying all those experiences with you beyond being able to die with a life well lived?

I think the healthiest attitude is to assume it's the great big void. Not because it's necessarily true, because honestly I think everyone would like it better if there was something else afterward, it's normal to keep that hope in the background of your thoughts. But you shouldn't act as if it's knowledge. As for the point... Well, it's so general to the point where it almost becomes trite, but I think human life is an art. We share every other drive with animals, except the one that make us search for a meaning in our lives, so for me I think it's about taking the state of affairs (in the most general sense possible) of humankind, and try to insert more aesthetism (again, in the most general sense possible) and refinement in it. Even the life of someone who will have done nothing else but provide better conditions to his children than those he has received will have a positive meaning.

More in general, what is a life well lived any way?

The classic, if your interested in classics, for this question is the 1st book of the Nicomaquean Ethics of Aristotle. It's a fairly easy read, if you make allowances for the way ancient greeks wrote. It's a bit archaic, simplistic and paternalist, the jist of it being that happiness is the state a prosperous, intelligent and active man who can provide for his family and friends. You can adapt for the 21st century fairly easily.

Personnaly, I think it's about living a morally sound and active life filled with obtainable objectives.

My problem is I'll be deployed to Afghanistan within next year. I could possibly gotten HIV from that fething skank that gave me the clap. I have a bunch of reason to be afraid. But there's one thing I'm not gonna fething do and that's beg to god when I die. I ain't gonna fething beg. Even if I get to heaven and all I have to do is beg to get in I'm not going to do it. I'll tell god to go feth himself.

Your blood work on pre deployment will tell you. First deployment?

I'm 53 and I don't worry one bit about my death and when it's coming. When it's your time to go there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it so enjoy the time here on Earth while you can.

Herger the Joyous said it best in the movie 13th Warrior - "The All-Father wove the skein of your life a long time ago. Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won't live one instant longer. Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing."

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

How do you face your mortality?

When I die I'll get to solve the ultimate mystery, or I won't be around to care.

I don't so much fear death as a long, agonizing death.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Is there a point to carrying all those experiences with you beyond being able to die with a life well lived?

Maybe, but having a clear conscience is pretty awesome whether or not you're on your deathbed.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

More in general, what is a life well lived any way?

Whatever you want it to be. That's the fun of it. You are your own ultimate arbiter of value.

Of course I'm a well known donkey-cave, so take of that what you will.

I've come close to buying the big one a number of times in my life and I've come to learn that whether you believe in God and Heaven or not, whether you want to or not, one day you're going tits up.
The main thing is not to concentrate and worry so much about dying, but live as amazing a life as you can, do the most good you can, and when it looks like your time has come, you'll have no regrets or fears and maybe be able to go out laughing.
At least, this is what I've learned from my brushes.

Ifepy wrote:
I'll tell god to go feth himself.

I like you, you can stay.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
How do you face your mortality?

Emotional detachment towards the consequences of my actions.
Being Bhuddist and consequently believing that death is simply a change of physical state (like Ice melting, or water boiling) helps.

First up, I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety attacks.

KalashnikovMarine wrote:How do you face your mortality?

I face it with stoic certainty.

If you're looking for some peace of mind, there are two quotes from the Hagakure that I've always been a fan of. And I don't mean to go all Seagal here, (ie. a white guy quoting Zen writings) but I've spent a long time following a personal philosophy that is an amalgamation of Yamamoto, Nietzsche & Hobbes.

"This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way.
his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling."

and

“In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things.”

So to answer your question:

I will face it very well. All things are transitory.

 Jihadin wrote:

My problem is I'll be deployed to Afghanistan within next year. I could possibly gotten HIV from that fething skank that gave me the clap. I have a bunch of reason to be afraid. But there's one thing I'm not gonna fething do and that's beg to god when I die. I ain't gonna fething beg. Even if I get to heaven and all I have to do is beg to get in I'm not going to do it. I'll tell god to go feth himself.

Your blood work on pre deployment will tell you. First deployment?

It will be. I'm going through rasp (it replaced rip) and every guy at 3rd rngr bat said when I get to my unit I'm basically guareented a deployment within the year.

Even if I fail (which I assure you I won't) I'll be put in the 82nd and they're deploying with the 25th ID in January. So yeah I'm going to afghanistan.

Btw Tom Petty is a boss

My biggest fear is dying in a hospital bed. When I check out, I want a decent view.

I'm not worried about death because when it happens I won't know about it;
but I do worry about a painful transition and if that does occur, and since Euthanasia is illegal here, I am concerned about that eventuality.

But that scenario is unlikely so I don't worry about it.

EDIT: Deleting post... I really shouldn't be posting at 1 in the morning

Some nights I have a panic attack thinking about the vastness of eternity and how boring it could be. I made myself bleed with my fingernails over the issue. But for the past few years I've started looking forward to death and whatever may follow. I'm almost kind of excited. In the mean time, I've got stuff to do.

Ifepy wrote:

My problem is I'll be deployed to Afghanistan within next year. I could possibly gotten HIV from that fething skank that gave me the clap. I have a bunch of reason to be afraid. But there's one thing I'm not gonna fething do and that's beg to god when I die. I ain't gonna fething beg. Even if I get to heaven and all I have to do is beg to get in I'm not going to do it. I'll tell god to go feth himself.

THIS

Zathras wrote:

Herger the Joyous said it best in the movie 13th Warrior - "The All-Father wove the skein of your life a long time ago. Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won't live one instant longer. Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing."

To the OP and Ifepy. I deal with death with faith. I don't run around on dakka attacking every godless socialist here so it may not be obvious but I'm very religious. A group of my joes asked me once why I didn't bother to duck and cover at the mortar siren or for direct fire and the answer was fairly simple: when it's my time it's my time. Confederate LTG T.J. Jackson said it best.

My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me.

As a consequence I can focus on the task at hand instead of mortality. If you really want to deal with death: get your will and living will in order. Update your life insurance and make sure that it takes care of what and who you want it too. If it does not buy supplemental insurance. Having your worldly affairs in order puts you to bed a lot easier.

This x 1000^^^^.

Personally, I think about it fairly often, I have no fear towards the issue, except that when the trumpets sound, I have a clear conscience, no regrets and that my death is a quick clean one, not tortured to death, definately not suffocating (my greatest fear) and most of all, PLEASE GOD, DON'T MAKE ME DIE ON THE TOILET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S Have you guys noticed how many metaphors have been used in this thread?

I have no intention of dying...my friends and I intend to combine genetic engineering with nanotechnology to permanently halt aging and be immune to all disease...then we try and figure to establish a real-time communication link with a supercomputer with sufficient memory and processing power to store the entire consciousness of several people. At the instant of death, our consciousness will be uploaded through the supercomputer into prepared clone bodies.