With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial

by Kathryn Mannix

Contemplation of one’s own death is a complex affair. Some people fear the approach of dying, others fear the moment of death, a few long to get it over with. Some fear ceasing to exist, others fear continuing to exist in an unimaginable way, and others hope for a promised paradise. Some experience the sadness of anticipated separation from loved ones, and others feel jealous of those who will survive without them. It is simply impossible to guess what another person means when they are considering their mortality.

It’s a truth rarely acknowledged that as we live longer thanks to modern medicine, it is our years of old age that are extended, not our years of youth and vigour. What are we doing to ourselves?

Death itself is perceived by ancient wisdom as a necessary and even welcome component of the human condition: a finality that ends uncertainty or despair; a mandated temporal boundary that makes time and relationships priceless; a promise of the laying down of the burdens of living, and the end of the repeated daily struggle.