We will all die

[Autolycus]

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

[Santo Rugger]

[Tyler Durden]On a long enough time line, the survival rate becomes zero.[/Tyler Durden]

[Beware of Doug]

It makes me think, "Fuck you. It's 3:42 am. I already can't sleep. Now you go and tell me that?"

Here's wishing you a relaxation-free weekend filled with horripilating existential dread, you ingrown follicle on the asscheek of existence you.

[Rigamarole]

I know.

Autolycus, have you been drinking again?

[Autolycus]

Originally Posted by Rigamarole

I know.

Autolycus, have you been drinking again?

Not really, but ummmmm.. thanks?

[Zoe]

When I was a young person -- 20s, 30s -- and I would think about my own mortality, it would start to freak me out.

I'm in my 60s now and death is not so frightening at all. Part of it was a sort of mystical/spiritual insight/experience that I had in my 30's or 40's. But much of my loss of fear has to do with the falling away of my culture.

My hometown is not nearly the same as it was. The older people that I loved as a child are mostly gone now and I've also lost some of my best friends. These were people who made the world seem "real" to me. Without them, things don't quite add up.

And the deaths of some entertainers start to seem unthinkable. Life without Sinatra? No more Carson ever? No new Mancini soundtracks? Rest in peace, Jobim.

My life is good right now. Wonderful friends! We share a lot of forgetfulness together! I'm in no hurry to die. But I'm not afraid of it.

You know what one of my friends is doing tomorrow? She has a blind date. It's the first blind date she's had in seventy years! She's eighty-eight and a living doll. I want to be like her when I grow up.

[Zoe]

At the bottom of my screen I get links like

Donate a Kidney!

Donate a Car to Charity!

Help an Orphan!

Geeeez! No pushing and shoving the old person out the door!

[Elsie]

Nice post, Zoe.

[Lightnin']

Screw that noise. Death sucks. I refuse to participate.

The only way you can have my immortality is when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. Uh, so to speak.

[Rigamarole]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Not really, but ummmmm.. thanks?

It wasn't a compliment. More of an inquisition. So, by "not really" I suppose you mean yes?

[chowder]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

So who pissed in your cornflakes?

God, you're a cheery bugger aintcha?

[Chief Pedant]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

The balance to be learned is how to savor the present because we may not have a future, but still plan for a future just in case it shows up.

I much prefer Bryant's "Thanatopsis" over Dylan's "Do not go gentle into that good night" :

"So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, that moves
To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustain'd and sooth'd
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

[Reply]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

12:34AM... the clock is tickin', tickin', tickin', eh?

But how do you know for sure that we will all die? What scares me much more than death is the possibility (however slim) that I'll be forced to live longer than I'd like... or god forbid, maybe even forever.

What if everything we knew about mortality and the universe is wrong? Or can you prove that we're not immortals who tricked ourselves into believing we're mortal so we can see what it's like?

I dunno. Death is just an unknown to me and I'm really kind of eager to find out what it might be like. Life is also an unknown, of course -- I don't know what'll happen tomorrow -- but I guess after a few years it just doesn't seem as novel as that whole death thing.

[pool]

"I never think of the future - it comes soon enough."

-Albert Einstein

[Captain_C]

Dead guy: "I was kind of expecting my life to flash before my eyes or something."

Death: "YES, THAT IS WHAT YOU JUST DID FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS."

Dead guy: "oh"

[picunurse]

Not only will we all die, we will all die alone. Even those surrounded by loved ones, still walk through the door alone.
So, it's important to come to terms with our own mortality.

"No One Here Gets Out Alive"
Jim Morrison

[Khadaji]

Every man dies - Not every man really lives

[Rilchiam]

The thread below this, when I opened it, was "New baby boy."

[Idlewild]

When I get in a "we're all going to die after all" mood, I like to listen to Do You Realize, by the Flaming Lips. It's the happiest "we're all going to die after all" song ever. I highly recommend it to the morbidly brooding sort.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

Not necessarily. I think it's just a question of who you're listening to. Alcor, for instance, promises reanimation of your corpse at some as-yet-undetermined point in the future when they've discovered the cure for what ails you. And, um, how to undo the additional damage they themselves have caused by cutting off your head and freezing it in liquid nitrogen. : cough :

Also: Most religions promise eternal life, eternal salvation, or an eternal supply of virgins in exchange for your soul. Of course, it's assumed that by eternal life they mean "after" you "die", so maybe that doesn't quite count. Of course, The Church of the Subgenius not only promises eternal life, but with these these folks the brainwashing is optional, which is good. And you'll get to ride in a space ship. Cool.

And in a fundamental way, nobody ever really dies, because after you're "dead" your body will decompose and return to the food chain, supplying nutrients which fuel other living things, which eventually die and return to the food chain, and so on. Unless, of course, you're "out-processed" in the customary way for westerners (embalmed with chemicals that prevent the deterioration of your flesh, wrapped in a synthetic-blend suit, and then nailed into a big steel and wood crate, which is then sealed in an even bigger steel and concrete box, which is then buried in the ground). Or cremated.

[corkboard]

I think the reason most people worry about death is not that they're afraid of the death process and what will happen to them afterward, but that once they realize it's about to happen, they'll have to come to terms with the fact that they didn't really do everything with their life that they wanted to, and now time is up. But priorities change as you get older, and things take on a new perspective.

I used to think that I couldn't die until I became the frontman in a rock band, or had a three-way with beautiful twin sisters, or won the lottery and became a multi-millionaire overnight. But now sometimes when I come home at night, and my kids run to the door saying "Daddy!!" and jump into my arms to give me a hug and kiss, and my wife is there and we have a glass of wine and sit down to the dinner she's prepared, and happiness is all around, I think that there's nothing else that I would ever need to experience to be eternally happy.

But that three-way would still be nice...

[CalMeacham]

Not only that, but HALF the people have below-average intelligence!*



And half of them are below average in everything else: Beauty, Memory, Competance, Ability to Sing. It's distressing.












*Yes, I know it's really "below median". But in a Normal distribution it doesn't matter.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

Not only that, but HALF the people have below-average intelligence!*
And half of them are below average in everything else: Beauty, Memory, Competance, Ability to Sing. It's distressing.

*Yes, I know it's really "below median". But in a Normal distribution it doesn't matter.

I come here to escape reality, and you breeze in reminding me I have a Statistics exam on monday to prepare for over easter weekend. A pox upon thee, Mr. Meacham.

[faithfool]

Yup. Life's a killer.

[elbows]

If I was young today I think I might be more worried that science could suddenly discover a means to forever prevent the onset of true death.

That I might, in my span, end up fighting for the right to die. After a lifetime spent worrying about death, the irony will burn!

Worse than a bad horror movie.

[TwoTrouts]

And even more sobering... when you're dead, you're dead. Pfft! No afterlife, no valhalla, heaven, hell, what-have-you. No reincarnation. Just a dissipation of energy and dissolution of the body over time.

[RandMcnally]

I'm only 20: I'm going to live forever.

I mean c'mon, when does bad stuff ever happen to young men in the military?

[Shagnasty]

I am 100% convinced tha 90% of all people don't "get" this simple fact although everyone can parrot it. One piece of evidence is the shock that people express when some public figure dies. It just isn't that shocking. You and everyone you knoware going to be in that position one day. We are just working out the line and some people cut.

I want to change the name of the "Death Penalty" to the "Early Exit Program". The new name more accurately reflects what is happening.

[Mrs. Millamant]

It certainly beats the alternative--unless, of course, you remember to ask the gods for eternal youth, as well.

[Kythereia]

"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens."

--Woody Allen

[hotflungwok]

When you reach 30 or so, you've already hit your peak, and probably don't know it. From there, your eyesight will dim, your hearing will worsen, your memory will fade, your digestive tract will become less tolerant, your joints will stiffen, your muscles will hurt more, and all those injuries bad enough to scar you will make themselves known again. Your body will slowly deteriorate until this process kills you. You've had the ride, it's all downhill from here.

I asked my doctor one day about how my night vision wasn't so good anymore. His was response was 'Well, you're getting old.' I was appalled. Old? I was only 30. Not even half my life expectancy!. You mean that was it? That back there, that was the best my body will ever be? Oh shit, that's seriously fucked up. I'm not taking this aging thing well.

[gonzomax]

Prove it. There are billions of people alive who have not died. Forget the stats,there are more people alive than ever existed ,therefore I do not see the proof.

[Caridwen]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

When you're young (teens and 20's) you know it's true but you don't really think it's going to happen to you any more than you think you're going to get really old.

It's like when they ask a celebrity what they'd do if they weren't in the entertainment industry and they say something idiotic like they'd make soap.
They know that people do that sort of thing but they never seriously consider that they could be anything other than rich and famous.

[engineer_comp_geek]

Anyway, when I was younger (in my 20's and 30's) death didn't really bother me that much. I always thought I would accept it when it came. After all, what choice did I really have?

Lately though (I'm 41, if it matters) I've been much more bothered by my own mortality. I don't know why.

I see on preview that Kythereia beat me to the quote I wanted to post. I'll post this quote instead, although I can't remember who said it:

Living healthy is really just dying as slowly as possible.

[Kythereia]

Originally Posted by gonzomax

Forget the stats,there are more people alive than ever existed

Er, sorry...

[Ike Witt]

Originally Posted by Kythereia

"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens."

--Woody Allen

Didn't Woody also say "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying"?

[Antinor01]

Yes, we will all die. But then again, so what? For some reason that concept has never bothered me at all.

[cwthree]

Whenever I'm reminded of human mortality (or the possibility for minimizing same) I can't help but remember this gift from Shel Silverstein:

Still Gonna Die

[scareyfaerie]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die.

I'm not going to. I just decided. So there!

[Cerowyn]

For a long time, my sig on SDMB was "Perfect health is merely the slowest rate at which you can die."

I guess that makes me a cynic, too.

[matt_mcl]

Someone: Well, why have you made your will and planned your funeral? That's kind of weird.
Me: Because I'm going to die.
Someone: *looks at me in horror*
Me: Not right now!

[panamajack]

Originally Posted by Idlewild

When I get in a "we're all going to die after all" mood, I like to listen to Do You Realize, by the Flaming Lips. It's the happiest "we're all going to die after all" song ever. I highly recommend it to the morbidly brooding sort.

Hi Everybody!


(I thought of that song as well.)

[Anne Neville]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

And the sun will burn out, too.

[Achren]

Originally Posted by hotflungwok

When you reach 30 or so, you've already hit your peak, and probably don't know it. From there, your eyesight will dim, your hearing will worsen, your memory will fade, your digestive tract will become less tolerant, your joints will stiffen, your muscles will hurt more, and all those injuries bad enough to scar you will make themselves known again. Your body will slowly deteriorate until this process kills you. You've had the ride, it's all downhill from here.

I asked my doctor one day about how my night vision wasn't so good anymore. His was response was 'Well, you're getting old.' I was appalled. Old? I was only 30. Not even half my life expectancy!. You mean that was it? That back there, that was the best my body will ever be? Oh shit, that's seriously fucked up. I'm not taking this aging thing well.

My Psych of Aging class was easily the most depressing class for this very reason.

[Autumn Almanac]

Am I the only one who finds this fact oddly comforting? Whenever I make a mistake, embarrass myself, or disappoint someone, it's somehow reassuring to think that in 100 years no one will care because I and everyone I know will be dead.

[TroubleAgain]

We will all die

Yeah, but how many of us are really living? (I know I'm doing my best!)

[pizzabrat]

Originally Posted by Antinor01

Yes, we will all die. But then again, so what? For some reason that concept has never bothered me at all.

Ditto. I can't figure out those who are freaked out by the idea.

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

Originally Posted by hotflungwok

When you reach 30 or so, you've already hit your peak, and probably don't know it. From there, your eyesight will dim, your hearing will worsen, your memory will fade, your digestive tract will become less tolerant, your joints will stiffen, your muscles will hurt more, and all those injuries bad enough to scar you will make themselves known again. Your body will slowly deteriorate until this process kills you. You've had the ride, it's all downhill from here.

Fah. I am past 30 and since then, my boobs grew, my hair got curly, and my eyes improved.

Heck, when I was younger I often felt utterly wretched when I got up in the morning. I think I had a lot of anxiety attacks in my late teens and early twenties. Now they are very rare and I can deal with them and cut them short.

Fitness means a lot - haven't you seen those studies where people who have been exercising are in better physical shape than their younger peers? I almost never eat meat and I exercise regularly (though not as much as I should) and I feel pretty darn good.

I don't mind the idea of dying, but there are quite a few things I'd like to do before I go. It is, however, good to remind yourself that life is short - it's too easy to let time go by and not get around to doing the things you really want to do. At least for me it has been. I have several things on my Life List crossed off but I have a few to add and I really need to get more of them done.

[CalMeacham]

Fah. I am past 30 and since then, my boobs grew, my hair got curly, and my eyes improved.

The problem is, these can happen to guys after 30, too.

[Heffalump and Roo]

Originally Posted by Autolycus

Someday you know, we're all going to die. Being in a morbid mood, I just felt like pointing that out. It's obvious obviously, but I mean, it really makes you think.

Autolycus, if this is just a passing mood, fine. But if this is depression, please pick up the phone and call your doctor. And only you know the difference.

I just made a post yesterday claiming that we weren't encouraging your depressive, self-destructive behavior. Please don't make me regret it.