Death and Dying
All normal human beings know that they will someday die. This knowledge affects the lives of all of us. Everyone wonders, and sometimes worries, about death and dying.
Death is a big mystery to everyone. The only thing we know for certain that it is nothing like sleep. When we sleep, we are unconscious yet all bodily functions are active. We breathe and our heart beats. When we die, the organs and all of our body’s systems stop.
I often worry about what would happen to me if one or both of my parents are to die. I think that everyone, especially the young, have some sad or even frightening thoughts on this topic. We have been with them as long as we remember. What will happen if they suddenly depart? It is very difficult to get over these thoughts and even more difficult to get over when the real thing happens. I couldn’t give advice to those who have lost their parents because I haven’t actually experienced losing a parent. All I can say is that I believe that we will never be left alone in this world. I believe that our parents will always be with us in our memories and thoughts and that there is always someone out there – perhaps a relative or close friend – who will love and care for us.
No matter how well-prepared a person is for the death of someone he or she loves, they have some feelings that they never expected to come out. One common reaction is to feel guilty. What often worries them is that somehow their actions might have been partly responsible for the death. “Perhaps I made too much noise during that final illness” and “Maybe something I did made him lose hope of living” are some thoughts that filled the mind of my mother during my grandfather’s death. I think it is important to remember that death happens naturally and that our thoughts and actions rarely influence the natural death of a person.
Another surprising feeling is anger. “How could someone I love and need so much leave me?” I think that anger is a normal reaction to
Death is a big mystery to everyone. The only thing we know for certain that it is nothing like sleep. When we sleep, we are unconscious yet all bodily functions are active. We breathe and our heart beats. When we die, the organs and all of our body’s systems stop.
I often worry about what would happen to me if one or both of my parents are to die. I think that everyone, especially the young, have some sad or even frightening thoughts on this topic. We have been with them as long as we remember. What will happen if they suddenly depart? It is very difficult to get over these thoughts and even more difficult to get over when the real thing happens. I couldn’t give advice to those who have lost their parents because I haven’t actually experienced losing a parent. All I can say is that I believe that we will never be left alone in this world. I believe that our parents will always be with us in our memories and thoughts and that there is always someone out there – perhaps a relative or close friend – who will love and care for us.
No matter how well-prepared a person is for the death of someone he or she loves, they have some feelings that they never expected to come out. One common reaction is to feel guilty. What often worries them is that somehow their actions might have been partly responsible for the death. “Perhaps I made too much noise during that final illness” and “Maybe something I did made him lose hope of living” are some thoughts that filled the mind of my mother during my grandfather’s death. I think it is important to remember that death happens naturally and that our thoughts and actions rarely influence the natural death of a person.
Another surprising feeling is anger. “How could someone I love and need so much leave me?” I think that anger is a normal reaction to